The Five Forces
by Ox Boy Jr. 53Z
Summary: Five residents from Neo Domino mysteriously recieve cards for an Archtype called The Five Forces. What are these cards, and do they have anything to do with the five Dragons that belong to the signers?
1. The Phoenix

_Author's Notes: All right, no activity from me in a while. I blame a lot of things, but the main thing is just sheer laziness. Anyway, I decided to rewrite the story. It's been a few years since I actually started this, but I think my writing skills have improved at least a little. And I hope to make more interesting duels. Anyway, here's the new and (hopefully improved) chaper 1._

Chapter I

The Phoenix

"Dammit Max! Do you always have to win at these tournaments?" Jayce asked his brother. Max just grinned.

"What about you? You used to kick ass at dueling. Now, you suck." Max said. He frowned a little, knowing what happened to his twin, and hating it. _Hope that never happens to me…_ He thought.

"I hope it doesn't happen to you either…" Jayce said. He too frowned.

Jayce and Max Avus where 18 year old fraternal twins. Jayce was smaller, with dirty blonde hair and always wearing a white windbreaker that somehow magically never got dirty over a t-shirt and jeans. Max was taller, a few inches over six feet, large and slightly muscular. He always wore "cool" clothes, like jeans and T-shirts with sayings on them. He was wearing one at the moment that had a picture of a dog with a stick in it's mouth, saying "Willing to learn new tricks."

"It's that twin connection, huh?" Max asked. The two brothers had a slight telepathic link, letting the other occasionally read their mind. It was this link that Max was referring to.

"Yeah. Glad it's only thoughts, not emotions, huh?" Jayce asked.

"Dammit Jayce, get over it! It's in the past!" Max snapped.

"Sorry, won't happen again…" Jayce mumbled.

The twins finally got to their house in Neo Domino. They lived at the street level, renting a place above a ramen shop they ran. Jayce went to the kitchen and started heating up some Pop-Tarts, while Max checked the mail.

"Anything good?" Jayce asked.

"Bills, bills, junk, credit card approval that we're gonna shred, a mysterious blank envelope, and more bills. Yeah, there is." Max brought the mysterious envelope over to Jayce as the Pop-Tarts popped out of the toaster.

"Open it up bro." Jayce said. His twin opened up the envelope, and a couple booster packs fell out of the envelope. "That's it?"

Max checked the envelope. "Nothing. Just the packs." he said, handing one to Jayce.

Jayce looked at the pack Max handed him. It was plain silver, with nothing on it except his name. He glanced at his brothers and saw it had Max's name on it. "Strange…" he said, then shrugged and opened his. He pulled out the cards and saw the first one. "Five Forces? What is this?" he asked.

"You got a Five Forces monster too?" Max asked. Jayce nodded and they showed the card to each other.

Jayce's card was called Five Forces- Red Phoenix, while Max's was Five Forces- Blue Dragon. As they read the effects, they immediately put the cards in their own decks. They then checked the other cards in the packs and liked them. "We're gonna have to rearrange our decks, huh bro" Max asked.

"Oh yeah."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"You guys run a ramen shop?"

"Yes Maria, we run a ramen shop." Max said a bit shortly. He and Jayce had known her for a few years, and Max didn't like her very much. Jayce on the other hand…

"Where's Jayce?" Maria asked, just as Max thought of his twin.

"Probably ran away when he saw you." Max snapped. "DAMMIT JEFFREY! GET THE NOODLES OFF THE STOVE BEFORE THEY BURN! WE'RE NOT PAYING YOU TO FLIRT WITH EVERY BLONDE YOU SEE!"

Jeffrey, Max and Jayce's help in the shop, quickly ran to the kitchen to stop the noodles from burning. "Why is he avoiding me?" Maria asked.

Max glared at her. "Why do you think?" He responded venomously. Maria took a step back. "Now either order something or go back to your _darling_ boyfriend, cuz there's a line behind you."

Maria glanced behind her and realized the bigger Avus twin was right. "Tell Jay I said hi," she told him.

"If I feel like it…" Max mumbled.

Maria quickly left the shop. She walked from there, mad at Max, but she knew what he meant. Max had every right to be mad at her, she supposed. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't notice the man she almost walked into.

"Hey there, beautiful. Got a minute?" The man asked.

Maria blushed. She knew she wasn't beautiful, even though two guys she knew truly saw her that way, one of whom was her boyfriend, CJ. She thought she was rather plain looking, but she knew what this man wanted. "I have a boyfriend, sorry."

The man grinned. "Then he'll be sorry to find out you're my girl now."

"Oh really?"

Maria glanced down the street, where a D-Wheel had pulled up. She recognized the rider immediately. "Oh, Jay!"

Jayce dismounted his D-Wheel, walking up to stand between Maria and the man. "I'm sorry, I don't think Maria would ever be your girlfriend." He said.

"You know who I am?" the man asked.

"No, and wouldn't care even if I did," Jayce responded.

"I'm Bandit Ace, Duelist extraordinaire! I play the best Machine deck just short of the pro leagues!" he declared.

"Oooookay… what does that have to do with trying to seduce Maria?" Jayce asked.

"Heh, once she seen me cream you in a duel, she won't want to be with anyone else!" Ace said.

" 'Cream me'?" Jayce shrugged. "Fine, you beat me, she can be your girlfriend, but if I win, you leave us the hell alone."

Bandit Ace grinned. "Sounds good to me!" he exclaimed as he activated his Duel Disk. Jayce detached his Disk from the D-Wheel and activated it. "Duel!" they said at the same time.

Jayce's LP: 4000

Ace's LP: 4000

"I'll start things off!" Ace said. He drew a card. "I summon X-Head Cannon (4/1800/1500) in Attack Mode, then play one card facedown. I end my turn."

Jayce drew. "And I'll begin mine!" He glanced at his hand: D.D. Survivor, Helios- Trice Megistus, Five Forces- Red Phoenix, Hand Destruction, Caius the Shadow Monarch and D.D. Crow. _Damn, I can't summon it yet. Oh well. _"I summon D.D. Survivor (4/1800/200) in Defense Mode, then I reverse a card! Turn: End!"

Ace laughed. "Oh, scared are you? Very well, I play Double Summon, allowing me to normal summon twice this turn. I summon Z-Metal Tank (4/1500/1300) and Y-Dragon Head (4/1500/1600). Then, I remove them from play to fusion summon XYZ- Dragon Cannon (8/2800/2600)!" Ace yelled. Jayce frowned. "Then I activate his effect: by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one card you control. Bye-bye D.D. Survivor!" Jayce scowled as his monster was sent to the Graveyard. "Now, with no monsters on your side of the field, I can attack you directly! But first, I activate Common Charity! By removing a normal monster in my hand from play, I can draw two cards!" Ace laughed as he removed a second X-Head Cannon from play. "Go, XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Ace laughed as he lowered Jayce's Life. "End my turn."

Jayce's LP: 1200

Ace's LP: 4000

"My turn then…" Jayce said as he drew. _Dunno why I even decided to Duel this guy… I know I'm just gonna lose. I just wanted to help Maria…_He shook his head. _NO! I will help her! Just think! _Jayce glanced at the card he drew. _It's a long shot, but maybe…_ "I activate my Spell Card: Trade In! This allows me to draw two cards by discarding a Level 8 monster!" Jayce said. "I discard Helios- Trice Megistus!" Jayce drew his two cards, D.D. Warrior Lady and Macro Cosmos. "Next, I play Hand Destruction. I'm sure you know what it does, we both discard two cards, then draw two cards," Jayce said. He discarded D.D. Warrior Lady and Caius the Shadow Monarch, drawing D.D. Warrior and another D.D. Survivor. Ace grumbled as he discarded then drew.

"Happy you drew some lousy cards?" Bandit Ace asked.

"Heh, you'll see. Next, I discard D.D. Crow!" Jayce exclaimed. "I can discard him whenever I want, and when I do, I get to remove a card in either players grave from the game. And I'm doing it to your Double Summon!"

"Ya know kid, there was a Limiter Removal in my grave. Why didn't you remove that?" Ace asked as he removed his spell card.

"It honestly didn't matter, as long as I discarded my Crow. Now, I special summon this: Five Forces- Red Phoenix!" Declared Jayce.

"Wh-what is that?" Bandit Ace asked as a giant red bird engulfed in flames appeared.

Jayce grinned. "This is my new friend, Red Phoenix (10/3000/3000)! He can only be special summoned when I have five or more monsters in my graveyard, and none on my side of the field. That's why I kept discarding." Jayce explained.

Ace frowned. "Damn, that's clever…"

"I know. Now, I activate his special ability: I can special summon one monster from either player's Graveyard to my side of the field!" Jayce said. "And I summon D.D. Survivor again! (4/1800/200)! Next, since _your _field is empty, I attack directly with both my monsters!" Jayce declared. _I can't let Maria down again. He better not have a Kuriboh in his hand._

"W-wait! This will do 4800 to me... No! I can't lose!" Ace yelled in panic.

Jayce's LP: 1200

Ace's LP: 0

"Grr… You'll be hearing from me and my friends, punk!" Ace said as he stomped away.

Jayce turned to Maria. "Hey there."

Maria smiled. "Thanks. You Dueled great." She laughed a little. "I didn't expect you to pretend to be my boyfriend though."

Jayce shrugged. "I didn't. When did I say I was your boyfriend?"

Maria flinched. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.

"Jay, I'm sorry about what happe-"

"I said I'm fine," Jayce interrupted her. "You should probably go home. CJ's probably wondering where you are."

"Jay…" Maria fell silent as she saw him get on his D-Wheel and ride back to the Ramen Shop. She sighed, signaled a taxi, and went home.

Max saw Jayce walk into the shop, but the minute he saw his face he knew his twin was in a foul mood. He just let him go upstairs. _You're wrong bro. We share emotions too, _he thought, hoping Jayce would hear him. He grumbled then yelled at Jeffrey some more.


	2. The Orb

Chapter II

The Orb

Kasey walked to his home in Satellite from where he worked. He didn't particularly enjoy living here, but he found it a hell of a lot better than all the crap in Neo Domino. He thought of how much they were making Neo Domino safe for everyone. It's fine, dammit. We don't need everything to be made in safety plastic. Pretty soon, Security's gonna make everyone wear suits of armor… He laughed at that image. He finally got to his house, brushed his long black hair out of his eyes, and noticed a letter on his couch.

He picked it up. There was nothing written on it, just his name. He opened it up, and found a booster pack, again blank except for his name. He shrugged then opened it up. One of the cards immediately caught his eye. It was called Five Forces- The Orb. He smiled as he read it's effect. _Nice. It's definitely going in my deck._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Hey, what's a guy from the city who doesn't have a marker or is part of Security doing here?"

Kasey ignored the guy. He continued sorting through the trash. He felt the man's hand grab his shoulder and spin him around.

"I asked you a question, punk!"

Kasey looked at the guy. He had a marker on his right cheek, a triangle. He was a big, muscular guy, but Kasey knew he could take him. "I know."

"Then answer me!"

"Don't have to."

The guy was about to punch Kasey when a Security man walked up. "Something wrong here?"

"Yeah, what's this guy doing here? We all know he's from Neo Domino, so why is he here without a marker?"

Security looked at Kasey. "Yes, why are you here?"

Kasey shrugged. "The City is boring."

Security punched him. "Your worse that these Satellite scum! Any one of them would trade you their arm for a chance to live in the City!"

"Fine, if you beat me in a Duel, I'll go back to Neo Domino. I win, you leave me the fuck alone," Kasey said.

Security grinned. "I only Turbo Duel."

"I got a D-Wheel."

"Good. Meet me at the entrance to the subway in ten minutes. If your not there, you lose."

Kasey glared. "I'll be there."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kasey sat on his D-Wheel, waiting for Security to get there. He smiled a little as he saw the officer's face when he realized that he was the second one there. "Shall we duel?"

Security pulled up beside him. "Let's go," he said as they both activated their D-Wheels. "DUEL!"

Kasey's Speed Counter's :0 LP: 4000

Security's Speed Counter's: 0 LP: 4000

"I'll go first. I play one card facedown, then summon Gate Blocker (4/100/2000) in defense mode! I end turn," Security said.

Kasey's Speed Counters: 0 LP: 4000

Security's Speed Counters: 1 LP: 4000

Kasey shrugged when he noticed his speed counters didn't increase. "Gate Blocker, eh? Oh well." He drew. "I play Speed Mode- Card Destruction! We both discard our entire hands, then draw the same number of cards as we had. The best part about this card is, I don't need Speed Counters," Kasey said. He drew five new cards as Security drew four. _Well, this is interesting. I played Card Destruction because I had nothing but monsters, but this is amazing._ "I Special Summon Five Forces- The Orb (10/3000/3000)!" Kasey said.

"What is that?" Security asked about the multi-hued orb floating next to Kasey.

"The Orb can only be special summoned when I have five or more monsters in my Graveyard and none on the field. Since my entire hand was monsters when I played Card Destruction, I meet the requirements to summon this Spellcaster. Now, I summon Skilled Dark Magician (4/1900/1700) in Attack Mode. I destroy your Gate Blocker with The Orb, and have Skilled Dark Magician attack you directly. I play two cards face down and end turn."

Kasey's Speed Counters:1 LP:4000

Security's Speed Counters: 1 LP: 2100

Security drew. "Heh, I activate my trap card: Royal Decree! As long as this card is face up, all trap cards are negated!"

Kasey shrugged. "To bad I'm destroying it."

"What?" Security asked. "How?"

'The Orb's effect. During either players turn, I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field. I'm getting rid of Royal Decree."

"Grr… I play one monster in defense mode and end turn."

Kasey's Speed Counters: 2 LP: 4000

Security's Speed Counters: 2 LP: 2100

"My turn: Draw!" Kasey said. He grinned as he saw his card. _Heh, don't even have to attack. He's afraid to activate anything because of The Orb, so he can't counter THIS!_ "I play one card facedown and end turn."

Kasey's Speed Counters: 3 LP: 4000

Security's Speed Counters: 3 LP: 2100

"Fine, it's my turn now. I draw!" Security said.

"Yeah, and on your standby phase, I activate my trap card: Ring of Destruction! I can tribute one monster on the field and inflict damage to both players equal to the destroyed monster's attack. I'll destroy my Skilled Dark Magician!"

"Yeah, but I'll still be alive!"

"If I didn't activate my second trap card: Barrel Behind the Door! If I take damage from a card effect, you take it instead. In other words, you are taking both your 1900 damage and mine. Your toast." Kasey said as Security's D-Wheel shut off.

Kasey's Speed Counters: 3 LP: 4000

Security's Speed Counters: 0 LP: 0

Kasey laughed as he left the Security officer behind. _Hmmm… don't know why, but I feel like going back to Neo Domino… eh, whatever._

Kasey turned his D-Wheel to his house, deciding to pack everything, and when he got there he found a note pinned to the door. He looked at it. It read:

"Dear Kasey Darko.

"All your stuff has been sent to an apartment in Neo Domino. You need to find the other Duelist's who use the Five Forces. When the five of you are together, I will tell you what's going on.

"Bill.

"P.S. It was nice how you handled The Orb."

Kasey wondered if it was some kind of joke. He noticed the ticket for a ship going to Neo Domino paper clipped to it, and saw the address of the apartment Bill, who ever he is, got for him. He looked in his house, just to make sure that everything was gone. It was.

He got on his D-Wheel and took off for the harbor.

---

Okay, forgot to do Author's Notes for chapter one. Sue me. Well, we have met the third person with a Five Forces. I think I'll keep a running tab on who has Forces. Here we go:

Jayce Avus: Red Pheonix

Max Avus: Blue Dragon

Kasey Darko: The Orb.

I would like to thank Dragon Ninja 1138 and Karxon Strife for their support and positive reinforcement. I would also like to curse 4Kids! for ruining the show, making me watch the much preffered Dubbed version. And, no, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. It would be cool if I did, but I don't. Well, please review chapter two of The Five Forces. And all flames will be used to cook my Pop-Tarts. Thank you.


	3. The Tiger

Chapter III

The Tiger

Saby nodded off as her tutor droned on about the economical and biological hazards that the people from Satellite caused. She thought it was a bunch of bull shit, but what did she know, right?

Her parents were big business people, and she knew that they use to work for a criminal organization called Sonika. The only reason she knew that is because she overheard her parents arguing about whether to work for them one night when she went to get a drink of water. They finally agreed to work for them a little while, but other than that, she didn't know if they stayed with them. Probably not, since they weren't arrested when Sonika was taken down.

She brushed her hair out of her eyes. It was long and white, with black stripes in it, to make it look like the fur of a white tiger. She was 17, and was very beautiful. Her parents kept trying to make her go on dates with other rich, upper class retards. She sighed. _This isn't for me. I just want to duel. Screw the "risks" that people from Satellite posed. Its all fake anyway. Please, someone just let me get out of here!_

"Are you paying attention, Miss Felyne?"

"No, I'm not. We both know I'm not, so why bother trying to teach me?" Saby snapped.

The tutor was taken aback. "Maybe we should take a break?"

"Yeah, a break would be nice. A break from this crappy life!" Saby said as she stormed out of the room. She quickly went to her own room, and pulled out her cards.

As she was going through them, she noticed an envelope with her name on it laying on her bed. She opened it up and saw a booster pack with her name on it inside. She frowned as she opened it up. _Five Forces? What are these cards? _Then she noticed one in particular. Five Forces- White Tiger. She smiled as she played with her hair. _I think this is a sign. I'm out of here!_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Saby snuck her D-Wheel out of the garage. Her parents didn't know she had it. They didn't want her to Duel. They wanted her to be lady-like and proper at all times. _It's not like I'm a tomboy, _she thought._ I just like the game._

She rolled it out onto the street. She turned it on, then rode out of the Tops. She rode around for awhile, wondering what to do. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized she was hungry. She decided to stop somewhere and eat.

She stopped at a ramen shop. It was called Ramen Heaven, and she saw a tall, black haired boy about a year older than her at the counter. She walked up.

"Hello, what can I get you today?" he asked. He then turned to the red-headed boy about the same age as him who was talking to a blonde who had a rather large bust. "DAMMIT JEFFREY! STOP FLIRTING! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT?" He turned back to Saby. "Sorry about that. I'm Max. My brother and I run this shop."

Saby giggled. "I'm Saby. I think I'll have the special today."

"One special dish for one special lady." Max winked. "Anything to drink?"

Saby laughed. "A coke please."

She sat down at one of the tables and pulled out the White Tiger card. She was examining it when a boy in a white jacket placed a bowl of ramen and a coke down on the table in front of her. "Here you go ma'am."

"Please, you don't have to call me that." Saby said.

"Sorry…"

"Hey, it's okay. What's your name?" Saby asked, hoping to make him feel better. She could tell something was troubling him.

"Jayce. Jayce Avus. You met my brother, he took your order." Jayce glanced at her. "And if he didn't make some comment to you about either your looks or getting into your pants, then something's wrong," he said as he grinned.

Saby blushed, but laughed anyway. She set the card on the table and looked at the bowl of ramen. "This looks delicious."

"Thanks. Making ramen seems to be the only thing I'm good at lately…" Jayce frowned. Then he noticed her card. "Whoa, can I see this?" he asked.

"Uh… sure?"

Jayce picked up the card. "Where did you get this?"

"This is gonna sound crazy, but I found it in a letter to me." Saby said, feeling a little stupid.

"It had only your name on it? And inside was a pack of cards, and that pack had your name on it too?"

"Yeah, how did you know? Did you send it to me?"

Jayce shook his head. He pulled out his deck and picked one card out of it, then placed it down on top of her White Tiger. His was called Red Phoenix. "My brother and I got one too. Hey, Max, get over here!"

Max walked over to Jayce and Saby. "What's up Jayce? Hello again Saby."

Jayce pointed to her card. Max stared and pulled out his card and placed it next to the other two. "Red Phoenix, Blue Dragon, White Tiger. That's only three. There's two more," Max said.

"How do you know?" Saby asked.

"Five Forces. That must mean there are five of them," Max explained.

Jayce nodded. "Uh, Saby, you want to stay here for a while?"

Saby glanced at the two. They weren't super handsome, but they both looked attractive. She didn't like how Max was always calling her beautiful, but she felt that he wouldn't do anything unless she agreed. And Jayce, well, he wouldn't do anything, not with whatever was bothering him. "Okay. I'll stay here for a while."

"Cool." Max said. "Your working the kitchen with Jayce."

"What?"

"You live with us, you gotta work for the shop," Jayce said.

Saby laughed. They got her on that. After she finished her ramen, she went into the kitchen to work with Jayce.

She found it was easy to work with him, even though she had no clue what to do. He showed her how to cook the ramen, and she quickly learned what to do. Soon, she was laughing and joking with Jayce, doing the cooking automatically.

"Hey, Jayce, Saby. Someone's moving into the other apartment upstairs," Max said after giving them some more orders.

"How do you know?" Jayce asked.

"Jeffrey says that someone's stuff is in there," Max explained.

"Does he ever work?" Jayce wondered. "Whatever. I guess we'll meet them when they get here."

"Hey, I really don't appreciate you guys yelling at me all the time," Jeffrey said as they cleared up for the day.

"Well, if you worked more instead of goofing off, then we wouldn't yell," Max said.

"Hey, I got an idea. Jeffrey, you duel Saby. If you win, we stop yelling at you. If she wins, you have to stop goofing off or you get fired. Sound good?" Jayce said. Jeffrey nodded.

Saby shrugged. She went over to her D-Wheel and took of the platform. She activated it at the same time Jeffrey activated his. "Duel!" They both said.

Saby's LP: 4000

Jeffrey's LP: 4000

"Girls go first," Saby said as she drew. "I play one monster in defense mode and play the Forest field card. Then I play two cards face down and end my turn."

Saby's LP: 4000

Jeffrey's LP: 4000

"My turn. I activate my spell card: Double Summon!" Jeffrey said.

"I don't think so. I activate my trap card: Magic Jammer. I discard one card to negate and destroy one spell card," Saby said as she sent Celtic Guardian to the Graveyard.

"Fine. I summon Dark Blade (4/1800/1500) attack mode, and attack your face down card," Jeffrey said as his warrior destroyed Saby's Silver Fang. "Then I play one card facedown and end my turn."

Saby's LP: 4000

Jeffrey's LP: 4000

"I draw, then play Graceful Charity. I draw three cards, then discard two," Saby said as she drew. She then sent another Silver Fang and a Kuriboh to the Graveyard. "Next, I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (4/1800/1600) in Attack mode. Next, I activate Blast With Chain onto Gearfried. However, it's destroyed due to Gearfried's effect!" Saby said.

"Then why do it?" Jeffrey asked.

"Because, when Blast With Chain is destroyed when it's an equip card, she can destroy one card on the field," Jayce explained.

"That's right. Thanks for explaining Jay," Saby said, smiling at him.

Jayce tensed up as she called him that. He frowned. _It's okay. She doesn't know,_ he thought.

"I will destroy your Dark Blade with the effect. Now, since your wide open, I attack directly!" Saby exclaimed. "End turn."

Saby's LP: 4000

Jeffrey's LP: 2200

"My turn. Draw!" Jeffrey said. "I play Peten the Dark Clown (3/500/1200) in Defense Mode, and then play Dark Hole! However, due to Peten's ability, I can send it out of play when it's destroyed to special summon another one from my deck. I'll summon this one in attack mode. Now, Peten, attack her directly!"

Saby winced as the clown stabbed her in the back.

Saby's LP: 3500

Jeffrey's LP: 2200

"My turn," Saby said as she drew. _Whoa, perfect timing._ "I special summon Five Forces- White Tiger(10/3000/3000)!" Saby declared as a giant white tiger appeared on the field. "Now, I summon Speed Warrior (2/900/400) in attack mode, then activate White Tiger's effect: I can special summon one monster from my deck. I summon Junk Synchron (3/1300/500)! Next, I Synchronize my Junk Synchron and my Speed Warrior to summon: Junk Warrior (5/2300/1300)! Junk Warrior, attack Peten the Dark Clown! Next, White Tiger attack directly!" Saby exclaimed.

Saby's LP: 3500

Jeffrey's LP: 0

"Aw man, beaten by a girl…" Jeffrey said.

"Hey, I'd wanna be beaten by a girl," Max said, chuckling a little. He heard Jayce call him a pervert in his mind.

Jayce and Max showed Saby upstairs to the apartment. It was sparsely furnished, obviously showing how recently the twins had moved in. They put her in the spare bedroom, with Jayce's room to the left of hers and Max's to the right. "You might want to lock your door at night," Jayce told her.

"Robbers?" she asked.

"No, Max," the smaller twin said with a laugh. Despite being depressed about something, he would still laugh and joke, Saby noticed. She laughed too, as Max took a half-hearted swing at Jayce.

"Well, I'm going to bed now. And I think I will lock my door, just to be safe," Saby said with a wink. This sent the Avus brothers into another laughing fit. She smiled as she closed the door. _I'm finally out of my parent's house, and living with two guys. What would my old "friends" think, I wonder? Oh, well, I'm happy here. _With those thoughts she went to bed.

In the room to the left, Jayce frowned. He was attracted to Saby. And he knew that his brother was too. Things were going to get interesting at Ramen Heaven.


	4. The Turtle

**Chapter IV**

**The Turtle**

**Rua was walking around the Goodwin mansion, looking for a particular Signer who wielded the Trident Dragon.**

"**Hey Rika, do you know where Jax is?" Rua asked the pink haired girl.**

**Rika smiled at Rua. "No, but I know why your looking. I suppose he's willing to duel you, again."**

**Rua smiled sheepishly. "Don't worry, I'll win this time," he said.**

**Just then, Ruka walked in. "Are you bothering Rika again?" she asked her twin.**

"**Uh…"**

"**He's fine Ruka," Rika said.**

"**He better be," Ruka said. Then she and Rika burst into giggles.**

**Just then the butler walked in. "Excuse me, Miss Goodwin, but you have a letter," he said.**

**Rika frowned as she took the envelope. No one sent her mail anymore, other than e-mail. She looked at the envelope. All it had was her name.**

"**What is it Rika?" the young twin who had a constant sugar high asked.**

"**Hush Rua," his sister said.**

**Rika opened it up. Inside was a booster pack for Duel Monsters. **_**This is strange… I don't duel. Why did I get this? Is it from Jax? **_**She shrugged and opened up the pack. Inside were some cards for an archetype she never heard of before: Five Forces.**

"**Oo, oo! Can I see?" Rua asked.**

**Rika handed the cards to him, but kept one in particular to look at. It was called Five Forces- Black Turtle. As she read it, she new it would rival any one of her boyfriend's cards, even his Trident Dragon.**

"**Whoa, I've never heard of these cards before. Hey, want me to help you build a deck Rika?" Rua asked.**

**Rika smiled. She might enjoy dueling Jax every now and then. "Sure, Rua. Maybe your sister can help too. I would be honored to have help from two Signers," Rika said.**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

**That night, as the Signers were eating dinner at Goodwin's Mansion, Rua mentioned to Jax about his girlfriend getting some new cards.**

"**You got cards in the mail, Rika? Who was it from?" Jax asked.**

"**I don't know. There was nothing on it except my name," Rika said.**

"**Yeah, and Ruka and I helped her make a deck!" Rua exclaimed.**

"**Really? Can I see it?" Jax asked.**

"**Okay," Rika said, blushing a little. She loved getting a lot of attention (and maybe other things) from Jax, but from the others it was a little unnerving. She handed Jax her deck. As he looked through it, he whistled. **

"**This is great, Rika. The twins really helped you make a great deck," Jax said.**

**Jack laughed. "If it's so great, Jax, why not let her test it out against me?"**

"**No, it's okay…" Rika said. But the others convinced her to duel him after they ate.**

**They went to a duel arena that Goodwin had in his mansion. There, Jack put on his Disk and activated it, while Rika borrowed Jax's Disk for the occasion.**

"**Duel!" the two said at the same time.**

**Rika's LP: 4000**

**Jack's LP: 4000**

"**Ladies first," Jack said.**

"**So who would that make go first?" Jax asked, laughing. Jack just glared at him.**

"**Okay, I draw," Rika said. "Next, I play 7 Colored Fish (4/1800/800) in Attack Mode! Then I play one card facedown, and end turn."**

**Rika's LP: 4000**

**Jack's LP: 4000**

"**I play Double Summon, and play Big Piece Gollum (5/2100/0), which I can summon if you have monsters and I don't. Then, I summon Dark Resonator (3/1300/300)! Next, I Tune my level three Dark Resonator and my level five Big Piece Gollum to Synchro Summon: Red Daemon's Dragon (8/3000/2000)!" Jack said as his ace card and Signer Dragon appeared.**

"**And I activate my Trap Card: Bottomless Trap Hole! When a monster with 1500 or more attack is summoned, it is removed from play!" Rika said.**

"**Good job, honey!" Jax said as Jack grumbled.**

"**Fine, I play one card face down and end turn," Jack said.**

**Rika's LP: 4000**

**Jack's LP: 4000**

"**I draw, then summon Ocean's Keeper (3/1500/1200) in Attack Mode! I'll have Ocean's Keeper attack you directly, then have 7 Colored Fish att-"**

"**I don't think so. When you attack with 7 Colored Fish, I activate Confusion Chaff. When you declare a second direct attack," Jack said, "your monster attacks the monster that attacked first! So, bye-bye Ocean's Keeper!"**

"**Fine, but I activate Ocean's Keeper's effect: I can add one Thousand-Eyes Jellyfish or Cranium fish to my hand. And I choose the Jellyfish! Then I play one card facedown and end turn," Rika said.**

**Rika's LP: 3700**

**Jack's LP: 2500**

"**I draw," Jack said, "Then, I activate my trap card: Return from the Different Dimension! I pay half my Life Points to special summon any of my removed from play monsters. Return, Red Daemon's Dragon!" Jack declared as his Dragon returned. "Now, attack her Fish!" Rika sighed as she sent her Fish to the Graveyard. "I end my turn."**

**Rika's LP: 2500**

**Jack's LP: 1250**

"**Rika's definitely holding her own against Jack," Yusei said. "And that's not an easy thing to do."**

"**You can win this, Rika!" Jax said.**

**Rika smiled at everyone's support. She drew. **_**I hope I can pull this off… **_**she thought as she looked at the card. "I play my spell card: The Cheerful Coffin. I can send three monsters from my hand to the Graveyard!" Rika said. "And, now that I have five monsters in my Graveyard, and none on the field, I can special summon this: Five Forces- Black Turtle (10/3000/3000)!"**

**Jack grinned. "So, your gonna kamikaze your Turtle to get rid of my Red Daemon's?" he asked.**

"**Nope, I now activate his effect: I can increase or decrease the attack or defense of any monster on the field by 1000!" Rika declared. "And your Red Daemon's Dragon is what is going to be affected!" Jack frowned as his Dragon was weakened (3000=2000) "Then I'll activate my trap card: Call of the Haunted. I special summon my 7 Colored Fish from the Graveyard! Now, Black Turtle, attack Red Daemon's Dragon, then 7 Colored Fish attack directly!" Rika said as Red Daemon's was killed, then Jack's Life Points were reduced to zero.**

**Rika's LP: 2500**

**Jack's LP: 0**

"**Good duel," Jack said, shaking Rika's hand. Rika smiled a little, happy that she won.**

**Goodwin walked up to his granddaughter. "Rika, I think there's more to this card than you think," he said.**

"**What do you mean, Mr. Goodwin?" Jax asked.**

"**The knowledge about the Five Forces is extremely rare. That someone made these cards, they were either very lucky, or they know what they are doing," Goodwin said, "I think that I should tell the seven of you about the Five Forces. But first, we need to go on a search for the others who wield them."**


	5. The Dragon

Chapter V

The Dragon

Max woke up the next morning, thinking about the Forces. Was it a coincidence that Saby, just after receiving her Force, showed up at Ramen Heaven, the day after he and Jayce got their Forces? He didn't think so.

He got up and took a shower. When he got out, he saw Jayce and Saby sitting in the kitchen, eating cereal. They both had their Forces out, and were examining them.

"Hey Max," Jayce said. "Could you go grab your Blue Dragon? We want to see it."

Max grabbed his deck, then went back into the kitchen. He placed his Dragon next to Jayce's Phoenix and Saby's Tiger. The three of them could tell that they were powerful, but not just in the children's card game that they played. There was more to these cards. A lot more.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kasey showed up at a ramen shop, called Ramen Heaven. He glanced at the address on the back of Bill's note. It was this place.

He walked up to the counter. There was a 18 year old with medium length black hair working there. "Hey, you know the owner of this place?" Kasey asked.

"I am the owner," the kid said. "Max Avus. I run this place with my brother. If you have a complaint, it's his fault."

"I heard that!" Kasey heard someone yell. Max ducked as a Styrofoam cup flew at his head.

"So, what do you want?" Max asked.

"I'm moving in to a new place, and the address says it's this shop," Kasey said.

"Yeah, there's a couple of apartments upstairs," Max said. "So, you're the one moving in?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Kasey asked.

"Saw your stuff in there," Max said. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Kasey Darko."

"Hey, aren't you the guy who moved to Satellite?" Max asked.

"You have a problem with that?"

"Isn't it a little weird?"

"I think it's awesome!" the same voice from earlier yelled from the kitchen. Kasey heard a girl laugh in there too.

"Whatever. Nice to meet you. Can I get you anything?" Max asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Maybe a Sprite," Kasey said.

"Kay, one DAMMIT JEFFREY! REMEMBER OUR DEAL? STOP GOOFING OFF! Sprite coming up," Max said.

Kasey chuckled a little as he sat down at a table with his drink. A guy came out of the kitchen, carrying some bowls of ramen, followed by a girl with hair that reminded him of a white tiger. The guy was obviously Max's brother, but the girl was definitely not Jeffrey, who he thought was the redhead that kept talking to the female customers.

"No, Saby, I don't think that my Phoenix could bring back spells or traps. It says monsters," Max's brother said.

The girl, Saby, frowned. "But why not? Does any of the Five Forces deal with magic or traps? Ours and Max's all deal with messing around with monsters."

Kasey turned to the two of them. He signaled them over. _Five Forces? Are these the people Bill was telling me to find? _

Saby walked over to Kasey as the brother went back to the kitchen. "Yes, can I get you anything?"

"Yeah, what's this about Five Forces?" Kasey asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Saby said quickly. Kasey pulled out The Orb. Saby looked at it, then yelled, "Max, Jay, get over here!"

The brothers quickly ran over. "What's going on?" Max asked.

"Look," Saby said, pointing at Kasey's card.

The brothers took out there Five Forces and placed them on the counter next to each other. Kasey put The Orb down next to Blue Dragon, and Saby finally pulled out her White Tiger and placed it next to Red Phoenix. They stared at them for a long time before finally Max said, "One more to find."

Kasey nodded. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

They were up in Kasey's new apartment. They were sitting around the table in the living room. Kasey explained to them about finding his card, then the duel with Security, and finally the letter from the man named Bill.

"Nope, don't know any Bills," Jayce said. "Except the ones saying we have to pay stuff."

Saby giggled. "Neither do I. But isn't it weird? We didn't know each other at all, except Jay and Max, and yet, here we are, all at this ramen shop."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that too," Max said. "I have two theories, that could both work at the same time."

"Let's here them," Kasey said.

"Okay, my first one is that these cards, the Five Forces, were meant for us to use, and that they are now drawing us together," Max said.

Kasey nodded. "Sound's reasonable, if you believe in higher powers. But what about this Bill?"

"He's the one making sure we do get together," Jayce said.

"Kay, that works. So what is your second theory, Max?" Kasey asked.

"Ramen is holy."

Jayce and Saby laughed, while Kasey just shook his head, but he grinned anyway.

"HEY BOSS?" the four heard Jeffrey yell up. "THERE'S SOME GUYS WHO WANT TO SEE YOU!"

The twins, Saby and Kasey ran down stairs. Standing next to the counter, in front of a terrified Jeffrey, was two men, wearing black suits. "Who is the owner here?" one of them asked.

"Second time today that I've been asked that. And I don't think it's gonna be good this time…" Max mumbled. "I am."

"Good, we have some, 'business' we would like to talk to you about," the man said.

"What type of business?" Max asked.

"My boss is looking for some really hotshot duelist. You seem to be winning tournaments around here, so he would like to hire you for his new, 'company,'" he said.

"What company?"

"I'll tell you about it when you join."

"I'm afraid I don't want to," Max said.

"You're a duelist, right? How about a little wager?" the man asked. "We duel. I win, you sign up. You win, we leave you alone."

Max nodded. He went upstairs and grabbed his Duel Disk. He got downstairs and saw that the man had his on and activated. Max activated his, then they both yelled in unison, "Duel!"

Max's LP: 4000

Man's LP: 4000

"I'll start things off," the man said. "I draw, then set one monster facedown, then play Card Destruction!" the man exclaimed. Max frowned as he sent his cards to the Graveyard and drew new ones. "I play Ookazi, which deals 800 points of damage to your Life! I'll end turn with that."

Max's LP: 3200

Man's LP: 4000

Matt drew. He grinned as he noticed his card. _Looks like I have a chance to summon my Force, huh? _"I play Foolish Burial, and send my Darkblaze Dragon from my Deck to my Grave!" Max said as he sent the card to the Graveyard. "Next, I summon Exiled Force (4/1000/1000) in attack mode! But, I activate his effect: I can tribute it to destroy one monster on the field!" Max said as he sent it to the Graveyard to destroy the man's facedown Sangan.

"But, Sangan's effect activates too: when it is sent to the Graveyard, I can add one monster with an attack of 1500 or less to my hand. I choose Witch of the Black Forest."

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter. I now have five monsters in my Grave, and none on the field. I can now summon my new friend: Five Forces- Blue Dragon (10/3000/3000)!" Max exclaimed. "I now attack you directly with my Dragon!"

Max's LP: 3200

Man's LP: 1000

"My turn. I play my Witch of the Black Forest (4/1100/1200) in defense mode, then end turn," the man said.

Max's LP: 3200

Man's LP: 1000

"My turn: Draw!" Max said. "Now, I activate my Dragon's special ability: I can destroy one monster on the field. Bye-bye Witch of the Black Forest!"

"And I activate her effect: I can add on monster with an defense of 1500 or less to my hand, and I choose Summoned Skull!"

"Heh, whatever. Blue Dragon, attack him directly!" Max said as the strange blue dragon send a mighty blast of wind from it's mouth, sending the man to his knees and his life points to zero.

"Heh, you win. Fine, you won't see us hanging around here anymore!" the man said. He went to the car and got in the driver's seat. His companion glanced at him, then signaled for him to wait. He walked up to Max.

"What do you want?" Max asked.

"Could I get a bowl of ramen, to go?"

---

Okay, I forgot the Author's Notes on the last to chapters. Sue me. Well, we now know who the five people chosen to use the Five Forces, and the Five Forces themselves. By the by, this is a companion to Dragon Ninja 1138's fics, the Trident Saga. You should read them, it explains some stuff in this fic, like Jax and the Trident Dragon, and other things. The first one is Trident Signer, then Trident Returns, and he's working on Trident Voyage right now. Anyway, here is the Five and their Forces:

Jayce Avus: Red Phoenix

Max Avus: Blue Dragon

Kasey Darko: The Orb

Saby Felyne: White Tiger

Rika Goodwin: Black Turtle

Okay, the first four are my own characters, Rika and Jax belong to Dragon Ninja, and Yu-Gi-Oh! (5D's or otherwise) do not belong to me. I would like to thank everyone who reveiwed this fic, and I sincerly hope I don't dissapoint you guys. And remember, any flames will be used to cook my pop-tarts.


	6. The God of Games

Chapter VI

The God of Games

The three Signers who had D-Wheels went out everyday from then on, looking for anyone who used Five Forces cards. Rika stayed with the twins, with Aki showing up often. The twins and Aki, when she was there, helped Rika fine tune her deck, and they often dueled, helping break Rika into the game.

"Good job, Rika," Ruka said after a duel. Rika was quickly getting good dueling instincts, and she now seemed to be as good as any of the Signers.

Just then Yusei walked into the penthouse in the Tops the twins lived in. Aki ran to him, hugging him a little. "Hey Aki," Yusei said.

"Find anyone?" Rika asked.

"No, just stopping by for lunch. This was closer than my place or Goodwin's Mansion," the crab-haired Signer explained.

"Oh. How's Jax?" Rika asked.

"He's fine. Seems he ran into Joanne Anderson. You remember her, right?"

Rika nodded, remembering the Crystal Queen, and the leader of the Duelist Templars before Jax. "That's nice."

"Yeah, she offered to help us. In fact, we have the Templars looking too," Yusei said. "But, I'm really in the mood for some lunch."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The former Templar that Yusei and Rika were talking about rode up to a ramen shop. She was pleased to run into Jax, and was more than happy to help him out. But, she was getting hungry.

She parked her D-Wheel in a space on the street, then walked inside. She walked up to the counter where there was a black-haired 18-year old.

"Hi, what can I get you?" the guy asked. He looked at her, then said, "We got ramen here, but if you want to take me instead, then please, do."

Joanne laughed. She was used to getting hit on, but this one was funny too. "Maybe I will," she teased. Ever since she lost to Jax, she loosened up a bit. She still held herself as if she were a queen, but she was a bit more down to earth. "I think I'll have the special."

"If you say 'one special dish for one special lady' to her, Max, I'm throwing the trash bucket at your head!" yelled a voice from the kitchen.

"That's my brother, Jayce," Max explained. "Well, can I get you anything to drink?"

"Yes, I'll have some tea," Joanne said.

"Okay, could you please take a seat? I'll get you your DAMMIT JEFFREY! I'M NOT WARNING YOU AGAIN! ramen in a minute," Max said, expertly inserting his yell at Jeffrey into the sentence. Joanne laughed and took a seat near the counter, so she could watch Max. Soon, Max went into the kitchen, then came out with two bowls of ramen and two cups of tea. He set them down on the table and sat across from her. "Hope you don't mind if I join you for lunch," Max said.

Joanne smiled. "Why me?"

Max grinned. "Three reasons. One, it's my lunch break, and I don't want to eat in the kitchen with Jayce and Saby. Two, your beauty captivates me. And three, I want to know what brought the former leader of the Duelist Templars to this humble ramen shop of mine, Joanne," Max explained.

Joanne blushed. "I'm doing a favor for a friend, and I got hungry, so I stopped here. I guess my dirty little secret is the fact that I love ramen," she explained.

"Oh? So who is this friend that your doing a favor for?" Max asked.

"Jax Campbell, my successor. He and the Signers are looking some people. Well, cards actually," Joanne told him.

Max looked at her, this time like he was trying to figure something out. She supposed he was getting up the nerve to ask her out, which she wondered if she would accept, when he asked a totally different question.

"Are the cards your looking for called Five Forces?" Max asked.

Joanne looked curiously at the Avus twin. "Yes, how did you know?" she asked. "You have one, don't you?"

Max nodded, then showed her his Blue Dragon. "My brother and I both have one, as well as a couple friends of ours," he told her.

"I think Jax might want to see all of you," Joanne said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After Joanne and Max finished their ramen, Max told Jayce and Saby that he was going out for the day. Jayce took one look at Joanne and didn't say anything. Max heard what he was thinking and grinned.

"It's nothing like that," he told his twin. "At least, not yet," he added with a wink. Jayce shook his head and chuckled, then took over the counter for Max.

Max and Joanne took off for the Goodwin Mansion. Joanne called Jax, telling him she had a lead. When they got to the Mansion, the other signers and Rika were waiting for them. Jax still had the Templars out searching, just in case this didn't turn out as they were hoping.

Jax walked up to Max and Joanne. He gave Joanne a quick hug, then looked at Max. "You have a Five Forces?" he asked him.

Max nodded and showed him Blue Dragon. Rika saw it and gasped. She pulled out her Black Turtle and showed it to Max. "Red Phoenix, White Tiger, Black Turtle, Blue Dragon and The Orb," Max said. "What are they?"

"I believe I can answer that," came a voice from above them. Rex Goodwin was standing on a balcony of the entrance hall, but it was not him who spoke. There was a man standing next to him, tall, muscular and blonde, wearing a pair of sunglasses that totally covered his eyes.

"Signers and Envoys, please allow me to introduce Bill Sarmmius, the God of Games," Goodwin said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Bill refused to talk until Jayce, Saby and Kasey were brought to the mansion. Once there, however, he agreed to answer mostly any question they asked.

"So, could you tell us what's going on?" Jack asked.

Bill looked at the former King. "Sure. Rika Goodwin, Saby Felyne, Kasey Darko, and Jayce and Max Avus are the Envoys of the Five Forces," Bill said.

"That still tells us nothing," Jax asked. "I want to know if Rika is in any danger!"

"You know, the Crimson Dragon was pleased when I chose you to take Rex's place as the Trident Signer," Bill told Jax. "Normally, he would choose, but since Duel Monsters falls into my department, I got to choose. I chose all of you, except Rua, that was last minute from C.D., and I'm proud of all of you."

"You chose us to wield these Dragons?" Yusei asked. Bill nodded.

"Well, the Forces asked me to do something similar. They had me make cards representing them, and asked me to chose five who would become the Envoys of the Five Forces," Bill said.

"What are these Forces?" asked Kasey.

"The Forces are what truly created everything, even the Gods. The First Four, the Phoenix, Tiger, Turtle and Dragon, are the original Forces, and they control Birth, Life, Age and Death, respectively," Bill said.

"Where did The Orb come from?" Kasey asked. He wanted to know all he could about his Force.

"The Orb was human, like you all. He learned of a spell so powerful, that it would make him into a Force. He used it, and is now the fifth Force," Bill told him. Kasey seemed satisfied with that answer. "But, there are other ways of becoming a Force. And one way involves the powers of the Signers, and their Dragons. And someone is after that power," Bill continued. "And the Forces don't want to add to their numbers, so they asked me to take measures against this person. And that is how you Envoys come in. You must protect the Signers from the Dragon-Eater."

The Signers and the newly appointed Envoys looked nervous. Could these four new people and Rika protect them from this Dragon-Eater?

Jax looked at his love. _I'm the one supposed to be protecting you, Rika. But, if Goodwin agrees with this Bill guy, then I'll let you protect me. Now we can stand side by side instead of you waiting, hoping that I'll come back. Especially after what happened in Hell._

Jayce walked toward Bill. "You have my word, that to the best of my ability, and with the cost of my life, I will protect the Signers in any way I need to," he declared. The other Envoys nodded.

"Good. Now, to make you feel special, I will mark you the same way as the Signers," Bill said. He snapped his fingers and disappeared. But they Envoys all grabbed their right forearms as marks appeared there. The marks were simple compared to the Signer marks, but they still radiated immense power. They all had an oval going from the wrist to the elbow, and each one being the color of the respective creature, with Kasey's being green.

Yusei held out his hand to the Phoenix Envoy. "Welcome to the team."


	7. The DragonEater

**Chapter VII**

**The Dragon-Eater**

It was the night after Bill had told them about the Envoys warned them about the Dragon-Eater. The Envoys and Signers were now staying at the Goodwin Mansion, and Goodwin sent some people to make sure Ramen Heaven was still open. Max smiled as he thought about Jeffrey. _He'll like being in charge of the place for a while. He's gonna love ordering Goodwin's men around, _he thought as he gazed out to the sea. He was on the roof, enjoying the night breeze.

"Oh, I didn't know anyone was up here," came a voice from behind him. Max turned and saw Joanne. Goodwin was happy to put up the Duelist Templars in his mansion, as well as their former leader. Max smiled as he saw her.

"Naw, it's okay. Big roof, you know. Could get lost up here," Max joked.

Joanne laughed a little. Max really liked her laugh. He smiled even more when he heard it. "Maybe we should stick together, in case we do get lost," Joanne said. Max laughed too.

"I think we should hold hands, that way we definitely know where the other one is," Max said as she walked over to him. He glanced at the sky. It was a clear night, all the stars clearly shown, with a half moon in the sky.

Joanne slipped her hand into his, meaning it to be a joke, but realized she liked holding his hand. "Like this?"

Max seemed to be at a loss for words. _This is a first,_ he thought.

_What is?_ he heard Jayce ask.

_None of your business,_ Max snapped. He heard his twin laugh in his mind, then tuned him out. He looked at Joanne. He thought she looked even more beautiful now in the moonlight than when she first walked into his ramen shop. He gently squeezed her hand. "Yeah, like this," he said.

Joanne smiled at him. Then she stunned both of them by giving him a quick kiss. She smiled a little embarrassedly as he fumbled for words. She put a finger on his lips, then said, "That's the first time I kissed someone."

"Really? That was your first kiss?" Max asked. Joanne nodded. "Then let me make your second one even better," he said as he embraced her. She let herself go, letting him kiss her like there was no tomorrow, and kissing him back.

* * *

The Dragon-Eater rode around the Tops. He knew where the Signers were, but he knew that the Envoys were there too. _I can't do anything about them as long as they have an Envoy babysitting them… hmm, I have an idea._

* * *

"Rua…"

Rua woke up from his sleep. He glanced around. There was nothing in his room. He grumbled as he tried to go back to sleep, hoping to dream of Aki. He knew he had a crush on her, but knew nothing would come of it. But that still didn't help his dreams. That seemed to be the only place he could think about her without feeling guilty. He started drifting off to sleep when he heard the voice again.

"Rua."

It was Aki's voice. Curious, Rua got up. He looked out in the hall, and saw Aki standing at his door. "Rua," she said again. She smiled and offered him her hand.

Rua took her hand. He felt a surge of pleasure holding her hand like this. "What do you want, Aki?" he asked.

Aki smiled at him. "I woke up, and was bored. I figured you might want to play with me."

"Su-sure Aki. I'll be happy to play with you," Rua said. Aki smiled again.

"You want me, Rua?" she asked.

"Yes…" Rua whispered. He couldn't bring himself to lie to her.

"I'll tell you what, let's duel. If you win, I'll be yours forever, okay?" Aki asked.

"Okay!" Rua said, thinking about being with Aki. He forgot that she was older than him, and how awkward it would be if anyone found out about that.

Aki led him down to the Duel arena in the mansion. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm ready Aki," the Power Tool Signer said.

"Good." Aki activated her Duel Disk as Rua activated his. "Dragon Duel: Start!" Aki exclaimed.

"What?" Rua asked.

Rua's LP: 4000

Aki's LP: 4000

"Nothing Rua. Your move," Aki said.

"Okay then. I summon Morphtronic Magnen (3/800/800) in attack mode!" Rua said. "Then I play one card facedown. End turn."

Aki drew. "I summon Dragon-Eater (4/1500/1500) in attack mode, then play two cards facedown."

Rua frowned. "Wait, that card isn't in your deck," he said.

Aki laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant laugh. "How right you are. I'm not Aki. But her image is mine, for the time being. I told you that if you won, you would have Aki all to yourself, but I never said what I got if I won," she said.

"What do you want?" Rua asked. "Who are you?

"I want your Dragon, and your Mark," she said. "And as to who I am, I am the Dragon-Eater!"

Rua trembled a little. The Dragon-Eater. And there wasn't a Envoy here to stop it. He had no choice but to hope to win this duel. "I draw, then I summon my second Morphtronic Magnen in defense mode! Then I switch my first Magnen to defense mode too!" Rua said. _That'll buy me some time before I figure out what to do._

"Nice try little Rua. But I activate my trap card: DNA Surgery! While this card is face up, all cards are the type of my choosing, and I choose Dragon!" the Dragon-Eater said. "And now, for the Dragon-Eater's effect to go into play: All Dragon-type monsters on your side of the field are negated, and their attack and defense become zero!"

"Oh no. I guess I end my turn," Rua said.

"I draw, then summon a second Dragon-Eater, then I activate Dragon's Rage! It gives all Dragons piercing damage. But first, I play Ookazi and Sparks, to deal a total of 1000 damage to your life points," the Dragon-Eater said.

Rua's LP: 3000

Dragon-Eater's LP: 4000

"Now, I will have my Dragon-Eaters kill your Magnens, and allow me to claim your Dragon's Heart Mark!" the Dragon-Eater exclaimed as Rua's sight went dark.

Rua's LP: 0

Dragon-Eater's LP: 4000

The Dragon-Eater walked over towards the unconscious boy, letting the image he took to fool the boy fade, being replaced with another, a young man hidden in a dark cloak. He pulled the sleeve up his right arm, smiling as he saw the Dragon's Heart Mark on his arm. He reached down and took Power Tool Dragon from Rua's extra deck, then faded from sight.

* * *

So, my next chapter. Sorry for the long gap in there, I went to Boot Camp. Well, I would like to thank all those who have reviewed, because it means you read my story. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, so I give you all a big cookie. I will try to upload at least once a week from now on. And if you haven't read the Trident Saga by Dragon Ninja 1138, then do so NOW! Thanks again.


	8. Isn't it enough?

Chapter VIII

"Isn't it enough?"

Max took Joanne to his room. They were giggling and laughing, not caring if anyone heard them. When they finally arrived, Joanne pinned him against the door, pressing her body against his.

"Max," Joanne said. She sounded a little worried.

"Don't worry, Joanne," Max said. "It'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about tonight," the Crystal Queen said. "I'm worried about tomorrow. Is this just going to be a one night stand?" she asked.

Max kissed her. "I give you my word as a Duelist and as the Envoy of the Dragon, that this will be more than a one night stand," he said. He grinned a little. "It'll be a two night stand," he teased.

Joanne laughed at that. "Okay then," she said as she kissed him again. She smiled as she felt how hard he was. _I hope this does lead to more. I could never be with someone because of my Dueling, _she thought, _but he's a Duelist too. I think this could work out._

Max picked her up and laid her down on the bed. He continued to kiss her for a few minutes, until she finally asked, "Aren't we supposed to be naked?"

Max grinned. "It's called foreplay," he said. "But, you can take off your clothes if you want."

Joanne pushed him off of her. He frowned, thinking that he upset her. But she started to take off her shoes and socks, making him realize that she was taking his advice.

"I'm a little embarrassed," Joanne admitted.

"It's okay. Everyone is their first time," Max said.

Joanne smiled. "Okay then," she said, slipping off her shirt and then taking off her bra. Max looked at her now bare chest. He winked and wolf-whistled. Joanne blushed, but unbuttoned her pants. She slowly pulled them down, then laid down next to Max, wearing only her panties. Max smiled, then hastily removed his clothes. He laid down on top of her, playing with her breasts as he kissed her. "Are you ready?" he whispered.

Joanne nodded, taking off her panties, revealing herself completely to Max. Max smiled reassuringly at her, then slipped himself into her. She gasped, feeling him inside her, and spread her legs wider, letting him go in deeper.

"Are you okay?" Max asked, starting to thrust in and out of her.

"I'm more than okay," she replied, gasping. She soon felt herself orgasm, and smiled at Max. "My God, this is so good," she whispered in his ear.

"You just came, huh?" he asked, nibbling on her ear.

"Yeah, I did," she admitted.

Max grinned. "Think I can make you come again before I do?" he asked.

Joanne giggled, then moaned again. "Let's see," she said.

Max smiled, then started thrusting faster into her. She soon felt herself climax again, then a final time with Max.

* * *

Jayce couldn't get to sleep. He never could when Max was with someone. He also knew Max couldn't sleep when he was, so it worked out fairly. So, Jayce stayed up, looking at a particular card, thinking about the past and tuning out Max's thoughts.

He was shaken out of his reverie when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.

Saby opened the door and walked in. "I couldn't sleep," she said, "and was hoping to maybe talk to you…"

Jayce smiled at her. He motioned for her to come over. She sat down at the table next to him. "What card is that?" Saby asked.

Jayce sighed. "Obnoxious Celtic Guard," he said. "It means more to me than any of my other cards, even Red Phoenix."

Saby raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked.

"I got it from Maria," Jayce said after a while.

"Who's Maria?"

"Maria Valentine. I dated her for a long time," Jayce said. "After we broke up, this is the only way I can think of her without hurting."

Saby nodded, realizing that he was opening up to her. She was now understanding why he seemed sad all the time. "What happened?"

Jayce sighed again. "I wasn't always like this, depressed and sad all the time. I used to be the life of parties, the one everyone could pick on and know it's okay, because I would pick on me too. But, I have a dark side," Jayce told her. "You know the Seven Deadly Sins?" Saby nodded. "If I was one of them, I would be Wrath."

"Wrath?"

"Yeah. Max said that he would rather sleep with a rabid lion that hasn't eaten in a week than fight me when I was angry," Jayce said. "Am I scaring you?" he asked.

Saby shook her head. "No, your not."

"Yeah, when Maria first found out about it, she said the same thing. But, we eventually realized that as long as I had this… problem… that she couldn't be with me. I agreed. I've never hurt her, but I didn't want to let it happen," Jayce said.

"So you two broke up?" Saby asked.

Jayce nodded. "Yeah, then she hooked up with this guy named CJ. They've been together for a while now," said the Phoenix Envoy.

"And you don't like it?" Saby asked.

"No, I hate it. I can't stand thinking about them together. It hurts too much…" Jayce fell silent.

Saby sat next to him, neither of them talking. Finally, she put her hand on his. He looked up at her. "Jay?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Jayce responded.

Saby leaned over and kissed him. He started kissing her back, and soon they were holding each other while they danced with their tongues. Jayce suddenly pushed her away.

"I can't… I'm sorry, Saby, but I can't," Jayce said, turning away.

"You still love Maria, don't you?" Saby asked. Jayce nodded. "Then answer this question: Isn't it enough that you love her?"

Jayce turned to look at her. She sighed. "I'm not mad, Jay. You don't even have to tell me the answer. But, tell it to yourself." Saby said. She kissed him again, not to confuse him, but to show that she wasn't mad, then left. Jayce sighed, then picked up Obnoxious Celtic Guard. He noticed there was a card laying next to it. _Saby must have left that there, _he thought. He picked it up and looked at it.

It was Rallis the Star Bird.

* * *

Most of the Signers, Templars and Envoys were in the dining room, eating breakfast. Saby looked up as Max and Joanne walked in, holding hands. They sat next to each other. Saby felt someone tap her shoulder. She looked at Ruka, sitting next to her. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Have you seen Rua?" asked the twin. Saby shook her head. "He probably had a sugar high last night, and is crashed right now," Ruka said, hoping that was right.

Jax and Rika walked in just then. They sat down next to the former Trident Signer, and started eating pancakes, and talking to Goodwin. Saby looked at them, then glanced around the table. _Everyone's here, except Jay and Rua. I hope I didn't make Jay's depression worse._

But she realized she didn't have to worry as the Phoenix Envoy walked in, a huge smile lighting up his face as he saw the Tiger Envoy. He sat next to her and kissed her. "Yes," he whispered to her as Max wolf-whistled, "it is enough." Saby smiled.

"Hey, Jayce," Jax called over. "You wanna duel me?"

Jayce smiled. "Your on."

* * *

As the two Duelists got to the arena, they saw Rua collapsed on the ground. They ran over to him. "Rua, are you okay?" Jax asked, shaking him awake.

* * *

Rua woke up. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Who?" Jayce asked.

Rua looked down at his feet. "The Dragon-Eater… I Dueled her last night." he confessed.

"She? The Dragon-Eater is female?" Jayce asked.

"Maybe… When we dueled, Aki was my opponent…"

"Why Aki?" Jayce asked Jax. Jax shrugged. Jayce suddenly had a horrible thought. "Rua, where's your Power Tool Dragon?"

"Right here, in my…" Rua trailed off. "It was here, last night, in my Extra Deck!" he exclaimed.

"The Eater stole it," Jax said. The two twins nodded. "Rua, show us your arm!"

"What?"

"We need to see your mark! The Dragon's Heart!" Jax said. Rua pulled up the sleeve of his right arm. There was nothing on his arm. The Dragon's Heart Mark was gone.

* * *

Okay, chapter eight, and the rating has gone up (naughty naughty Max and Joanne). But oh well. Well, so the Dragon-Eater is now known to be running wild by the group, and now they need a plan. Oh, whatever shall they do? Yeah, crappy end of chapter speach, but deal with it.


	9. Signer Vs Envoy

Chapter IX

Signer VS Envoy

"This is bad," Max said. The others were down in the arena, as Jayce, Jax and Rua told them about Rua's Duel with the Dragon-Eater.

"Well, looks like he has one Dragon already," Bill said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Goodwin nodded. "This is bad, isn't it, Bill?"

"Well, as long as he doesn't get all of them, he can't become a Force. But, he will get stronger the more Marks he has," Bill said.

"So, don't let him get any more Marks," Jax said.

"I think that we should pair up, one Signer with one Envoy," said Jayce. The others nodded.

"I'm with Jax," Rika immediately said, surprising no one.

Max opened his mouth to say something, when Saby said, "I'll be with Yusei."

Max frowned. That was who he was going to say. He opened his mouth to say Jack, when Kasey spoke up.

"I would be honored to partner up with Jack," The Orb's Envoy said.

Jack nodded. "I would be honored to be with someone who is familiar with Satellite," he said.

"I'll partner up with Ruka, and Rua too, I guess," Jayce said, again cutting Max off.

"So I'm with Max?" Aki said.

Jax shrugged. "Do you want to be with someone else?"

Aki shook her head. "As long as there is no South Park references," she said.

Jayce poked Joanne. "You might want to keep an eye on him," he whispered loudly. "I mean, after that night you two had."

Joanne blushed. "How do you know?"

Jayce grinned. "It's that twin connection. Right Max?"

"Yeah, it is. We can hear each other's thoughts," Max explained.

"Example: Max is thinking of a way to get you and Aki in a threesome," Jayce said.

The Crystal Queen, the Black Rose Witch, and the Duel King all glared at Max.

"Yes?" Max asked feebly.

"Anyway, how bout that Duel, Jayce and Jax? I think it will calm everyone down," Bill said.

Goodwin nodded. "Excellent idea, Bill. And that gives me another idea… If you'll excuse me," Rika's grandfather said. He bowed and walked away.

"Let me help you with that idea, Rex," Bill said, following the head of Security.

"Alright then, Jax, let's Duel!" Jayce said, activating his Disk. Jax activated his in response.

"DUEL!"

Jayce's LP: 4000

Jax's LP: 4000

"I'll start," Jax said. "Draw! Next, I play one card in defense mode, and two facedown. I end my turn."

Jayce's LP: 4000

Jax's LP: 4000

"And I begin mine! Draw!" Jayce said. "And I summon Rallis the Star Bird (3/800/800) in attack mode!" Jayce declared as a golden bird appeared next to him. "Then, I play my spell card: Soul Absorption! Whenever a card is removed from play, I gain 500 Life Points," the Envoy said.

Saby smiled. He was using the card that she left for him.

"Next, I play my second spell card: Dimensional Fissure!" Jayce declared. "Whenever a monster is destroyed, it is removed from play instead of going to the Grave!" he explained as a large hole opened up above the two Duelists.

"Is that all your going to do?" Jax asked.

"Nope, I now attack your facedown!"

"Well, it doesn't matter. My Masked Dragon's defense (3/1400/1100) is more than Rallis's attack!" Jax said, as his Dragon was destroyed by Rallis. "What?"

Jayce grinned. "Rallis's ability: He gains attack equal to the level of the monster he's attacking x200. Your Masked Dragon has 3 stars, so Rallis's attack goes up by 600," Jayce explained about the power of his Star Bird (800=1400). "However, after he attacks, he is removed from play until my next turn," Jayce said as Rallis disappeared.

"But, I still get to summon a dragon from my deck," Jax said.

Jayce shook his head. "Nope, Masked Dragon's effect only works if he's sent to the Graveyard. But he's sent out of play, thanks to Dimensional Fissure. And, since both Rallis and Masked Dragon were sent out of play, I gain 1000 LP thanks to Soul Absorption," Jayce said. "I play one card facedown and end turn."

Jayce's LP: 5000

Jax's LP: 4000

"Heh, nice, but I've come back from worse. I summon Dragon's Vanguard (4/1700/1300) in attack mode. Then, I'll send my Red-Eyes Black Dragon to the Grave to amp up Dragon's Vanguard's attack by 300!" Jax said.

"No, don't think so. Remember, Red-Eyes is removed from play instead of going to the Grave," Jayce said. "So, Dragon's Vanguard doesn't get a bonus since it wasn't sent to the Graveyard, and I gain 500 more Life Points!"

Jayce's LP: 5500

Jax's LP: 4000

"Doesn't matter, you will still lose Life points!" Jax said. "Dragon's Vanguard, attack Jayce directly!"

"I activate my trap card: Macro Cosmos! I can special summon Helios- The Primordial Sun (4/?/?) from my hand or deck, so you have to attack that instead!" Jayce said, summoning what looked like a mummy with a miniature sun in place of a head.

"Meh, so it's dead," Jax said.

"Yeah, and it's removed from play, increasing my LP again," Jayce said.

Jax sighed. "I play Stamping Destruction, and destroy your Macro Cosmos, and deal 500 damage to your life!" Jax said. "Then I end turn."

Jayce's LP: 5500

Jax's LP: 4000

"Whoa, this is a new strategy," Rika said.

"Jayce plays a Different Dimension Deck," Max explained. "He sends cards out of play, and sweeps the field to leave his opponents open to attack."

"Wow," Saby said, realizing how great Rallis turned out for Jayce's deck.

"Yeah. I wonder if Jax will win this one," Rika said.

"My turn: Draw!" Jayce said. "Rallis returns to my field, and I equip him with Amulet of Ambition!" Jayce said. "Then, I summon D.D. Survivor (4/1800/200) in attack mode! Now, I have Rallis attack your Dragon's Vanguard!" Jayce said.

"But Rallis won't have enough attack," Jax pointed out. "Even with the attack boost, he still only has 1600 attack."

Jayce grinned. "Yeah, but I equipped him with the Amulet of Ambition, remember? When the equipped monster battles a monster that has a higher level than it, the equipped monster gains 500 attack times the difference in their levels!" Jayce said. "So, my Rallis is at 2100! Your Vanguard is dead!" Jayce said. "And, since it and Rallis goes out of play, I gain another 1000 Life!"

Jayce's LP: 6500

Jax's LP: 3600

"Now, I have D.D. Survivor attack you directly!" Jayce said. Jax frowned as his Life Points dropped again. "Oh, by the way, when Amulet of Ambition is sent to the Graveyard, I can return it to the top of my deck. I play one card facedown then end turn."

Jayce's LP: 6500

Jax's LP: 1800

"Draw!" the Trident Signer said. "I play one monster in defense mode and end turn."

"I draw! Rallis returns to my field, and I equip it with Amulet of Ambition again. Then, I play Nobleman of Crossout on your face down!" Jayce said, removing Jax's Red-Eyes Black Chick from play. "I gain another 500, and you are wide open for attack. Go, Rallis!" Jayce said as his Star Bird attacked Jax.

Jayce's LP: 7000

Jax's LP: 1000

"Now, D.D. Survivor, attack!" Jayce said.

"You should have had D.D. Survivor attack and immediately end this Duel," Jax said with a smile. "Because I activate my trap: Confusion Chaff. When you attack directly a second time, your monster attacks the first monster that attacked!" Jax laughed. "That means Rallis will kill D.D. Survivor!"

"Nope, not really," Jayce said.

"What?"

"Remember, after Rallis attacks, it is removed from play?" Jayce asked.

Jax's face fell. "Yeah, your right. Confusion Chaff won't work…" he said as his Life Points dropped to zero.

Jayce's LP: 7500

Jax's LP: 0

He laughed and offered his hand to Jayce. "Thanks for the Duel, Jayce," he said. "You are strong. I think that's the first time I've lost since I've gotten Trident Dragon."

Jayce smiled. "You should thank Saby for the great Duel, Jax. She told me how to put the past behind me," he said. "And as to losing, as long as we all Duel as best we could, then we all win, right?"

Jax laughed. "Right you are," he said. "If all the Envoys are as noble as you, then I'm glad to be Dueling by their side."

"They all are. Except maybe Max," Jayce said.

Max took a swing at Jayce, who ducked. He smiled. _The old Jayce is back, _he thought. He smiled at Saby. _Whatever you did, Saby, thank you. _


	10. In America!

Chapter X

In America!

"This is the plan," Goodwin said. He assembled the three groups, who have started to jokingly call themselves "Team SET." They were in the dining room, since his office wasn't big enough to hold the six Signers, five Envoys, and six Templars (seven if you counted Joanne), a total of 18 Duelist. "We give the Dragon-Eater a very tempting target. I host another tournament, featuring the Signers. It will be another Fortune Cup, so Yusei will Duel the winner of the Cup."

Yusei nodded. "If the Dragon-Eater makes it to me, I'll be our last chance, right?"

Jack laughed. "I'll be the one you Duel at the end, Yusei. I will be King once again!" he declared.

"Yeah, but if all the Envoys are in the tournament too, then we have a good chance of taking him out early," Bill said.

Jayce looked at his fellow Envoys. "You guys think you can take out the Eater?" he asked. Max and Kasey immediately nodded. Saby frowned, but nodded too. Rika glanced at Jax.

"Honestly, I don't know how well I'll be, but I will do my best," she said.

"That's all we ask for, Rika," Saby said. Rika smiled at her. "But, we all need to be careful. After what the Dragon-Eater did to Rua, we need to be on high alert."

"Well said, Saby," Goodwin said. "This will be a tournament even better than the first. It will be more than eight Duelists. Everyone can participate."

"Really?" Bill asked, grinning. "I just might sign up then, Rex."

Goodwin laughed. "Very well. As long as you help me set the tournament up with me."

Bill nodded. They now had a plan to trap the Dragon-Eater.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen! After the success of the first Fortune Cup, Rex Goodwin has decided to host yet another one! Only this time, there will be more Duelists, more Duels, and more excitement! I present to you, the Fortune Cup II!" the announcer said. There was a deafening roar of yells and applause as the announcer said this.

Goodwin sat in the VIP tower, Bill standing next to him. "Think this will work?" Bill asked him.

Goodwin sighed. "It better," he said.

"Right now, we are hosting the preliminaries to this grand tournament! Our stadium didn't have enough room to hold all these Duels at once, so we have the Duels through out the city! Let's see some clips of our most promising Duelists!"

The screen changed to show Kasey and Yoshio dueling at the Aquarium. Kasey was winning by 300 points, but Yoshio was still holding up with his Six Samurai.

"Here we have a member of the Duelists Templars, Yoshio Murakami, Master of the Six Samurai! And an unknown, one who is Dueling for the first time in the pro leagues: Kasey Darko! He wields an unbeatable Spellcaster deck. Who will win this, the might or the magic?" the announcer said. The screen changed once again. It showed Max and a kid Dueling. The kid was using a Gladiator Beast deck, and Max was plowing through them. The screen changed again and again, showing the various Duels taking place throughout the city, letting the crowd get a taste of what to expect in the finals.

There was one man in the crowd, a blue bandana on his head. He grinned when he saw the screen flash to Jayce. _It's time to get my revenge, bastard. And now I know where you are, _Bandit Ace thought. He left the stadium, running into another man wearing a bandana, only this was colored like the American flag.

"Hey, watch where your going, punk!" the man said.

Ace's mouth opened. "Keith Howard IV!" he exclaimed. Keith nodded. "You're my idol!" Ace told him.

"Oh, really?" Keith said. He glanced at the screen. It showed Jax in a turbo duel. "It's time to get my revenge, bastard," he muttered, "and now I know where you are… In America!"

Ace heard him. "You have a bone to pick with someone?" he asked. Keith nodded again. "Hey, so do I."

Keith grinned. "You any good with that deck of yours?"

Ace laughed. "I've only ever lost once with it," he said.

"Are you interested then," Keith asked, "in a tag duel?"

* * *

Jax and Jayce met up at Ramen Heaven. They stopped to get something to eat.

"Hey Jax," Jayce said. "How's it going?"

"It's been good," the Trident Signer responded. "I think we'll definitely end up in the finals."

Jayce laughed, then ordered them some ramen. As they sat down to eat, two men wearing bandana's walked up to them.

"Hey, where's your girlfriend?" Ace asked Jayce. Jayce ignored him.

"Hey, it's nice to see you again, Jax," Keith said to Jax. Jax ignored him.

The four of them were like that for a long time, Jayce and Jax eating and ignoring the two bandits. Keith and Ace sat down next to them, waiting for them to talk.

Jayce finally broke the silence. "What do you two want?" he asked.

Ace grinned. "Thought you would never ask." he said. "It's time for a little payback. The two of you have messed up our reputations, and we are gonna crush you in a duel, right Keith?"

"Right Ace… In America!" Keith said.

Jayce and Jax looked at each other. "Eh, we'll get rid of them now, save a lot of people some trouble," Jax said. Jayce nodded.

"Excellent," Ace said. He and Keith activated their Duel Disks. The two members of Team SET got up and activated theirs.

"Tag Duel!" the four said in unison.

Jayce's LP: 4000

Jax's LP: 4000

Keith's LP: 4000

Ace's LP: 4000

"I'll start," Keith said. "Draw! I summon RoboLady (3/450/900) in defense mode! Then I play one card facedown and end turn."

"My move: Draw!" Jax said. "I summon Masked Dragon (3/1400/1100) in defense mode! I then play one card facedown and end turn."

"Draw!" Ace said. "I summon Ancient Gear Cannon (2/500/500)! I then play my spell card, Machine Duplication! It allows me to special summon up to two monsters from my deck that have the same name as a face-up machine monster with 500 attack or less, so I now have three Ancient Gear Cannons!" Ace exclaimed as two more cannons made from gears appeared. "I now activate their effects: I can tribute them to inflict 500 damage to your life points! You both lose 1500!"

Jayce's LP: 2500

Jax's LP: 2500

Keith's LP: 4000

Ace's LP: 4000

"Hey, good job Ace!" Keith said.

"Thanks man."

"Wait, you play an Ancient Gear Deck? I'm shoving it up your ass after we win this duel," Jayce said.

"I don't," Ace told him.

"Still going up your ass," Jayce muttered. "My turn: Draw!" Jayce said. "I play Soul Absorption: Whenever a card is removed from play, we gain 500 Life Points! Next, I play Dark Core on RoboLady! By discarding one card from my hand, I can remove one face-up monster from play!" he explained, getting rid of RoboLady, and increasing the Signer and Envoy's life. "I play one card facedown, then I tribute Jax's Masked Dragon to summon Caius, the Shadow Monarch (6/2400/1000)! I activate his effect: when he is tribute summoned, I can remove one card on the field from play! I remove your facedown!" Jayce said, increasing their Life Points again, and getting rid of the two Bandit's last defense for the turn. "You are wide open, Keith! I attack you directly!"

Jayce's LP: 3500

Jax's LP: 3500

Keith's LP: 1600

Ace's LP: 4000

"Draw!" Keith said. "I play Double Summon, allowing me to normal summon twice this turn. I then play Bokoichi, the Freightening Car (2/500/500). Then, I also play Machine Duplication, giving me three on the field! I now tribute two to summon Mechanical Hound (8/2800/1500)! Now, attack his Caius!" Keith said, destroying the Shadow Monarch. "Now, Bokoichi, attack Directly!"

"Don't think so. I activate my trap Card: Macro Cosmos! I can special summon one Helios- the Primordial Sun from my hand or Deck. It will protect my life, and because Macro Cosmos sends all card out of play instead of to the Grave, I gain more Life!"

Jayce's LP: 3600

Jax's LP: 4000

Keith's LP: 1600

Ace's LP: 4000

"My turn," Jax said, drawing. "I summon Armed Dragon LV3 (3/1200/900)! I then play Level Up! allowing me to tribute it to summon the next Level of the Armed Dragons: Armed Dragon LV5 (5/2400/1700)!" Jax declared. "I now activate his effect: by discarding one monster from my hand, I can destroy one monster with a lower attack! I send my Horus LV8 to the Grave and destroy your Hound!" Jax said, letting the monster go out of play, and removing Keith's monster from play too. "That makes four cards sent out of play, making our life go up by 2000!" Jax said. "But it doesn't matter, because you two are wide open. Armed Dragon, attack Keith directly and end this!" Jax yelled as his dragon wiped out Keith's Life Points, making him and Ace lose.

Jayce's LP: 5600

Jax's LP: 6000

Keith's LP: 0

Ace's LP: 4000 (partner at zero)

The two bandits backed up. "How, how did they beat us?" Ace asked. "We had such a good lead!"

"I don't know, Ace, but we need to get out of here!" Keith said. "We'll get our revenge. I swear it… By America!"

Jayce and Jax laughed as the two machine users ran away. "Nice Dueling there, Jax," Jayce said.

"Hey, it was your Soul Absorption that got our Life Points back," Jax said.

The two of them rode back to the arena, bickering over who's cards really helped win the Duel.

* * *

**Okay, sue me. I said I would update once a week or something similair, but fricken school got in my way. At least I remembered and posted, and not let it fade into obscurity, which it probably already is... Ah well, I'm enjoying writing this, and I like to contribute to Dragon Ninja's Trident Saga. You should read that if you haven't already. Well, I'll update soon, I hope, but until then, wait for it!**


	11. The Second Mark Gone

Chapter XI

The Second Mark Gone

Team SET met at the Goodwin mansion that night. The prelims were done, and there were 16 finalists, making the most exciting part of the tournament take place the next day. Saby looked at the roster. The five Envoys made it, as well as Aki, Jack and Jax on the Signers part. Joanne and Asano Kaiba also made the final leg of the tournament. She glanced down the list. It read:

Joanne Anderson

Jayce Avus

Jack Atlas

Max Avus

Aki Izayoi

Asano Kaiba

Jax Campbell

Saby Felyne

Rika Goodwin

Kasey Darko

Bill Sarmmius

The Dragon-Eater

Maria Valentine

Harold Pheonix

Joey Wheeler III

Yoshiya Kiryu

Saby stopped as she read Maria's name. _Maria duels? _she thought. She frowned. _I hope Jayce doesn't have to duel her. That would be bad. _She noticed the name above hers. _The Dragon-Eater? He signed up under that name?_

"Hey Saby, whatcha got there?" Jayce asked, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hey, is that the roster? Mind if I look?" Saby sighed and handed it to him. "Hey! The Dragon-Eater!"

"Yeah, I know," Saby said, hoping he wouldn't read the next name. But he did.

"Hey, Maria's in the cup!" Jayce said. He grinned. "Well, be prepared for a great Duel, whoever she is up against."

"Yeah…" Saby said weakly.

"Oh, yeah, I got a card for you, Saby," Jayce said.

"Really?" Saby asked. Jayce nodded and handed her the card. Just then, Max called his name. He apologized and gave her a quick kiss, telling her he would be right back. She looked at the card.

It was Gallis the Star Beast.

* * *

Saby was taking a shower later, wondering about her and Jayce. She got out of the shower and walked into her room that was connected to the bathroom, hoping that he wouldn't have to duel his ex, and was pondering whether to ask Goodwin to make sure they didn't duel, when there was a knock on the door. She put on a robe and answered the door. It was Jayce.

"Hey there," he said. "Mind if I come in?"

Saby smiled. "I just came out of the shower," she said, "but sure."

Jayce grinned and walked in, closing the door behind him. They quickly embraced, and started kissing furiously. Jayce started to remove her robe, when she backed up and clutched it to her.

"I'm sorry," Jayce said, realizing that she was uncomfortable. "I guess it's too soon, huh?"

"No, it's not that," Saby said, shaking her head. "It's something else."

"What?" Jayce asked.

"It was…" Saby trailed off, remembering the horrible experiences she was put through.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want too," Jayce said.

"No, you told me about you and Maria, and your problem," Saby said. "I will tell you. Just, be patient."

"Okay then," Jayce said, sitting next to her on the bed.

Saby took a deep breath. "When I was younger, about 12, whenever my parents would go out, they hired a man to look after me while they were gone. I can't remember what he called his position, but it was basically a fancy, rich term for babysitter," she said. Jayce nodded. "Well, when my parents left, he would…" Saby fell silent again, shivering a little.

"He raped you, didn't he?" Jayce asked softly. Saby nodded.

"I was scared. I was only 12 at the time, remember. I felt guilty though, because even though I hated what he was doing, I liked it. It felt so good…"

Jayce held her against him, whispering things to calm her down. Eventually she smiled at him. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Jay," she said.

"Did he get caught?"

Saby nodded. "When I couldn't stand it anymore, I told my parents. They immediately took action, and as far as I know, he's still rotting in jail. But, I still have nightmares about him sometimes…" She smiled at Jayce. "But, I know that I'm safe with you."

Jayce smiled back at her. _My problems seem to be so pathetic compared to hers, _he thought. _That's about the worst thing that can happen to anyone. No wonder her parents tried to keep her sheltered._

"Do you want to, Jay?" Saby asked after a few minutes. "Have sex, I mean."

Jayce smiled. "I would love it."

"Good," she said. "Take your clothes off."

Jayce laughed, then took his clothes off. Saby smiled as he laid down on the bed next to her. He took off her robe, slowly running his hands over her body. She felt the same pleasures as she did five years ago, when the man had touched her, but none of the disgust, and no fear. She trusted Jayce.

"No," she whispered as he started to get on top of her. He looked at her, puzzled. "I'm on top."

Jayce laughed again. Saby got on top of him, slipping him into her. She moaned as she slowly started riding him. He reached up and started playing with her breasts, making her moan louder. She started going faster and faster, until she was almost screaming with pleasure, feeling herself orgasm at the same time as Jayce.

As she rolled off of him, exhausted, she heard him whisper in her ear. "How was that?"

Saby smiled. "I feel like the man is finally gone."

* * *

The Dragon-Eater smiled. _Good, _he thought, _the Phoenix and the Tiger are busy with each other, and the Dragon and Turtle busy with others. If I can get in without The Orb noticing, I can get another Mark. _He kicked his D-Wheel into gear and rode off for the Goodwin Mansion.

Inside his house a young woman stirred. She woke up, noticing her boyfriend wasn't in bed with her. She looked around. _Your gone again, _she thought. _Where are you CJ?_

* * *

The Dragon-Eater walked in through the front gate, the cameras not noticing him. He passed through the doors, going through the mansion until he found the room that he knew the Ancient Fairy Signer was sleeping in. He walked through the door without opening it, and approached Ruka. _So young, and such a chance to bloom, _he thought. He stood there, watching her. She woke up, sensing someone there.

"The Dragon-Eater," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, little Ruka," he said. He stared into her eyes.

She stared back. "What do you want?" she asked, starting to get lost in those eyes.

"I want power, power only you have," the Eater explained. He smiled at her. "And I am willing to offer you compensation for your power."

"What compensation?" she asked, starting to lose her willpower, staring into his eyes.

The Dragon-Eater waved his hand, and Ruka could feel herself change. She looked down, realizing she was no longer a little girl, but older now. "I can make you beautiful," the Dragon-Eater whispered. Ruka looked in the mirror. He was right. She was beautiful. And she wanted it. "All you need to do is let me have your Mark and Dragon."

Ruka nodded. "You can have them," she said.

The Eater kissed her. "Thank you my dear," he said, before taking the Mark and the Dragon.

* * *

Kasey was waiting in the entrance hall for the Dragon-Eater. _Even if he gets another Mark tonight, _he thought, _I can still beat him._

Kasey was prepared to Duel the Dragon-Eater, no matter what form he took, but he didn't expect to see someone else with him. "Stop right there!" he said, trying to figure out who the woman was, and why she was familiar.

"Oh?" the Eater said, "but we were just about to leave. Didn't want to overstay our welcome."

"You overstayed it the second you walked in," Kasey said. "Let's see your arm."

The Dragon-Eater rolled up the sleeve on his right arm to reveal the two Marks that the twins had. He even showed him the Power Tool and Ancient Fairy Dragons.

"Is Ruka alright?" Kasey asked, worried.

"Why? Does she look hurt to you?" the Eater asked, turning to look at the woman next to him.

It clicked in Kasey's mind why she was familiar. "Ruka?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"What are you doing with the Dragon-Eater? And why are you older?" Kasey asked her.

"It's all perfectly legit," the Eater said. "We had a deal. I give her everlasting beauty, and I get the Mark and Dragon from her."

"You like making deals?" Kasey asked, activating his Duel Disk.

"Oh, my. Let me guess, if you win, I leave and give back the Marks and Dragons I have, right?" the Dragon-Eater asked. Kasey nodded. "And if you don't win?"

"Then you are free to go," Kasey said.

The Eater laughed. "That's about the best I'll get from you, isn't it?" He activated his own Disk. "Very well, Duel!"

Kasey's LP: 4000

Dragon-Eater's LP: 4000

"I'll start," said the Eater. "I discard Thunder Dragon from my hand to add two more from my deck to my hand. Next, I play Polymerization on my two Thunder Dragons to Fusion Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (7/2800/2100)! I play one card facedown and end turn."

"I draw," Kasey said, glancing at Ruka. _Damn, she's beautiful… Just how powerful is this guy? He can impersonate people, and transform them. Doesn't matter. I'll end this right here. _"I play the Ritual Card: Black Illusion Ritual! I discard Mystic Lamp to Ritual Summon: Relinquished (1/0/0)! But, I also play Polymerization, and fuse my Relinquished with my Thousand-Eyes Idol to Fusion Summon: Thousand-Eyes Restrict (1/0/0)! I'll use his ability to equip it with your Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, changing my monster's attack and defense!" Kasey said, amping up his Monster while getting rid of the Dragon-Eater's (0/0=2800/2100). "Next, I play one card facedown and have Thousand-Eyes Restrict attack you directly!"

The Eater laughed. "I activate my trap card: Magic Cylinder. The attack is negated, and you take the full force of the attack," the Dragon-Eater said as Restrict's attack was redirected back at Kasey.

Kasey's LP: 1800

Dragon-Eater's LP: 4000

"My turn: draw," the Dragon-Eater said.

Kasey glanced at Ruka. She was waiting patiently for the Duel to end.

"I Summon my Dragon-Eater in attack mode," the Dragon-Eater said, playing his trump card. "Then I play two cards facedown and end turn.

Kasey drew. "I have my Restrict attack your Eater!" Kasey said.

"Oh, how sad. Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. I negate the attack, and I can set it back down," the Dragon-Eater said with a grin. "And I activate my other trap card: DNA Surgery. I choose Dragon. You know what that means. Your monster's are now at 0/0 and have their effects negated, meaning Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon is mine once again!"

Kasey sighed. "I'm glad I just drew this: Mystical Space Typhoon. I destroy your DNA Surgery, then have Restrict re-absorb Twin-Headed. I end turn."

The Dragon-Eater frowned. "I summon a second Dragon-Eater. End turn."

Kasey grinned as he saw the card he drew. "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two new cards. I play Double Attack," he said, "by discarding one monster from my hand, I can make one monster with a lower level be able to attack twice this turn, and I discard my Sangan, a level three. My Restrict is level one, so I can attack twice. Now, I destroy both your Dragon-Eaters!"

"But, on your first attack, I activate my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, negating it," the Dragon Eater pointed out.

Kasey's LP: 1800

Dragon-Eater's LP: 2700

"My turn: Draw! I now play-"

Kasey cut him off. "I activate my trap card on your stand-by phase! Ring of Destruction! I can tribute one monster on the field, and we both lose Life Points equal to it's attack, and I choose my Thousand-Eyes Restrict! We both take 2800!"

"So, a draw?" the Eater asked. Kasey nodded. "Then, I'm free to go."

"What?" Kasey asked.

"You said if you didn't win, I could go free. You didn't win," the Eater pointed out.

"Damn…"

The Dragon-Eater laughed. "Don't worry, I've duped smarter people than you." He turned to Ruka. "Shall we get going, my dear?"

Kasey punched the wall as the two left. _Damn… he got me. A damn technicality, but still… _He sighed. _Rua is gonna kill me. Everyone is. _He went upstairs, trying to think of what to do.

* * *

Well, it's been a while since I updated, but I was busy the whole time with learning stuff and moving. So, suck it. However, unlike my friend Dragon Ninja, author of the Trident Saga, which you should read if you haven't by now (don't you love shameless plugs?) I am not stopping to write a book, meaning I will most likely update before he will. Maybe a few times, dunno how long he will take. Well, I updated anyway, so I feel super-special awesome, and will now leave you to your imagination what will happen in the next exciting chapter of The Five Forces. Or not. Well, Update soonish (?).


	12. Rounds 1 and 2

Chapter XII

Rounds one and two:

Tiger VS Harpy, Phoenix VS Phoenix

The members of Team SET who were in the finals got to the waiting area first. They were in a pretty bad mood, after Kasey told them what happened the night before. Yusei was still at Goodwin's mansion, with some others, trying to cheer up Rua. He had started crying when Kasey told them, and nobody blamed him.

_If I was in his place, and the Eater took Jayce, _Max thought, _I might be crying too._

Jayce heard Max and smiled a little. _I would too, bro. So, let's do this for Rua and Ruka. Twin Power, right?_

Max laughed. Bill and a kid of about 15 walked in just then. The kid was wearing jeans, and a grey button up shirt, and had dirty blonde hair. He and Bill were talking animatedly, in some language none of them understood.

"Hey guys," Bill said as he and the boy got to Team SET. "This is Yoshiya Kiryu, he's in the Finals with us."

"But please, call me Joshua," the boy said. "That's what everyone calls me."

"Pleased to meet you, Joshua," Saby said, smiling. Joshua laughed. Bill introduced Joshua to everyone, and then another boy walked in, about 16. He wore a white leisure suit, obviously he was from the Tops, and had black hair.

"Hello. I am Harold Phoenix, descended from Aster Phoenix, master of the Destiny Heroes," he said, introducing himself. The others all introduced themselves again, when Maria and two other guys walked in.

"Hey Maria!" Jayce said, waving to her. Maria waved back, and the boy with his arm around her waist frowned. "Hi Joey!" The other boy laughed, walked up and fist bumped with Jayce.

"Are you going to introduce us to him?" Saby asked, holding onto his arm.

Jayce smiled at her. "This is Maria Valentine, who some of you," he said, glancing at Max, who was glaring daggers at the one holding her, "know. That's her boyfriend, CJ. And last is Joey Wheeler III." Joey nodded. "Maria and Joey are in the finals, for those of you who haven't seen the roster. CJ is just escorting Maria, I'm sure. Her boyfriends just never want to leave her alone," he finished with a laugh. Some of them laughed too, including Saby, Bill, Joshua and Harold. Max ignored him, and was continuing his staring contest with CJ.

Soon after CJ left a cloaked person walked into the waiting area. Kasey glared at him. There was only one person it could be.

"Dragon-Eater," Kasey said. The Eater laughed.

"Yes? Do you want my autograph or something?" he asked.

"Can I get one?" Joshua asked. The Eater laughed again, signing Joshua's autograph book. "Actually, I wouldn't mind getting all of your autographs, if you don't mind," he said.

The other's shrugged and signed it, Bill taking up a whole page with his signature.

"We're gonna have a rematch in this tournament," Kasey told the Eater.

"If you say so," the Eater said.

"ATTENTION DUELISTS! ROUND ONE OF THE TOURNAMENT WILL BEGIN! WILL SABY FELYNE AND MARIA VALENTINE PLEASE COME TO THE FIELD!" the intercom yelled out.

Saby glanced at Maria. _Wow, Jayce's ex verses his girlfriend. This will be interesting. _She glanced at Jayce. _He said she was good. Let's see how good. _

Jayce gave Saby a quick kiss. "Good luck," he said. He gave Maria a hug before she left too. As he stood watching the screen, Joanne walked up next to him.

"Who are you rooting for?" the Crystal Queen asked. Jayce didn't answer, just grinned.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Saby stood at one end of the field, Maria at the other end. They looked at each other, each wondering how Jayce was doing, seeing the two he loved most fight each other. Saby sighed, and almost missed the announcer saying that she was to go first.

Saby's LP: 4000

Maria's LP: 4000

"I draw!" she said. "Then I summon Skull Dog Marron (4/1350/2000) in defense mode, then play two cards facedown. I end turn."

"My turn: Draw!" Maria said. "I summon Harpy Lady (4/1300/1400) in attack mode, then play the field card Rising Air Current, which increases all WIND monsters by 500 points!" Maria said, amping up her Harpy Lady (1300=1800). "I then play one card facedown and end turn."

Saby drew. "I summon Des Kangaroo (4/1500/1700), in attack mode! Then, I activate one card from my hand: Gallis the Star Beast! I send the top card of my deck to the Graveyard. If it's a monster, I can special summon Gallis and you lose Life Points equal to the monster from my deck's level x200!" Saby said. She picked up the top card. "Its Big Koala! It's a level 7, so you lose 1400!"

Saby's LP: 4000

Maria's LP: 2600

"I then special summon Gallis in defense mode. I end with Lightning Vortex, and-"

Maria cut her off. "I activate Magic Jammer. I discard my Sonic Chick and negate your Lightning Vortex. But you still have to discard your card."

Saby sighed. "I discard The Trojan Horse. End turn."

"My turn," Maria said as she drew. "I play Cyber Harpy Lady (4/1800/1300) in attack mode! And thanks to my Field, she gains 500 attack (1800=2300)!" Maria said. "I have my Cyber Harpy Lady kill your Skull Dog, and my Harpy Lady kill your Gallis. I play one card facedown and end turn."

Saby's LP: 4000

Maria's LP: 2600

"My turn: Draw!" Saby said. "I activate my trap card: Call of the Haunted. I special summon one monster from my Grave in attack mode, and I choose Big Koala (7/2700/2000)! I now play my Spell Card: Polymerization! I fuse my Des Kangaroo with my Big Koala to Summon: Master of Oz (9/4200/3700) in attack mode! Master of Oz, attack Harpy Lady!" Saby said. The giant kangaroo/koala hybrid threw a punch at Maria's Harpy Lady.

"I don't think so: Sakuretsu Armor! Your Master of Oz is killed." Maria said. Saby frowned. "My turn?" Saby nodded. "Draw! I play another Harpy Lady in attack mode! Now, my Harpies all attack you directly!"

Saby grinned. "I don't think so: Negate Attack. Your battle phase is ended, and none attack."

Maria sighed. "I play one card facedown and end turn."

Saby drew. She smiled as she saw her card. "I special summon Five Forces- White Tiger (10/3000/3000) from my hand!"

"You have one of those too?" Maria asked. "Just like Jay."

"Yep, I have one." Saby told her. "And since I have 6 monsters in my Grave, I can summon it. I now activate it's effect: I can summon any monster I want from my deck, and I choose to summon Krebons (2/1200/400) in attack mode!"

"Why summon that?" Maria asked.

"Because, Krebons is a tuner!" Saby explained. "And now I'll Synchronize my level two Krebons and my level ten White Tiger!"

"Why is she tuning her Tiger?" Jack asked in the waiting area. Jayce laughed.

"There's a more powerful version of it that she's summoning," he told the former Duel King.

"_Force of Earth and Life, show your true power! Let the mighty universe tremble at your roar! Synchro Summon! Give Life again, Five Forces- Tiger of the Earth!" _Saby said, as an even more majestic white tiger appeared (12/4000/4000). "And I should mention one of his effects: he gains 1000 attack for every Five Forces monsters in the Graveyards of either player!" Saby told Jayce's ex, as her Tiger's attack went up even higher (4000=5000).

Maria laughed. "Too bad. It's a great monster and all, but I activate my trap card: Bottomless Trap Hole! When you summon a monster with 1500 or more attack, I remove it from play!"

It was Saby's turn to laugh. "Too bad. It's a great trap and all, but the Tiger of the Earth has another effect: it cannot be destroyed!"

Maria's face fell. "I suppose your going to attack my Harpies now, right?" Saby nodded. "Before you finish this, tell me one thing."

"What?"

"Do you love him?" Saby nodded again. "Despite-"

"I know about his problem, Maria. I understand why you two broke up, and I don't blame you. But I think that I can handle it."

Maria smiled. "I'm glad that he found you then, Saby."

Saby smiled back. "I'll take care of him, don't worry. Tiger of the Earth, attack the Harpy Lady!"

Saby's LP: 4000

Maria's LP: 0

Maria walked over to Saby, and hugged her. "You better take care of him," she whispered into her ear. Saby smiled again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was the second round. Jayce stood where Saby was a few minutes ago, staring at Harold Phoenix. He wondered if it was a coincidence that his opponent had the last name of Phoenix.

"Duel!" the two yelled.

Jayce's LP: 4000

Harold's LP: 4000

"I go first: Draw!" Harold said. "I set a monster facedown, then play two cards facedown. End turn!"

Jayce drew. "I summon D.D. Assailant (4/1700/1600) in attack mode! I then play two cards face down and attack your monster!"

Harold laughed. "You attack my Destiny Hero- Defender (4/100/2700)! You just lost 1000 life points!"

Jayce's LP: 3000

Harold's LP: 4000

"I suppose I end turn," Jayce said, sighing.

"Draw!" Harold said. "I summon Marauding Captain (3/1200/1400) in attack mode! I activate his effect: when he's summoned, I can special summon one level four or lower monster from my hand! I summon Destiny Hero- Diamond Dude (4/1400/1600)! But, the fun doesn't end there: I tribute my three monsters to Special Summon Destiny Hero- Dogma (8/3400/2400)! But, I'm not attacking your Assailant, because I know his effect: when it's destroyed by a monster, you can remove both of them from play. So, I'll just end my turn."

"Draw!" Jayce said.

"And on your standby phase, you lose half your life points, thanks to Dogma's effect!" Harold said.

Jayce's LP: 1500

Harold's LP: 4000

"I summon a monster in defense mode, then end turn." Jayce said.

"My turn: Draw!" Harold said. "Would you look at that? I play my facedown Polymerization on my Dogma, and the Destiny Hero- Plasma I just drew. I fusion summon Destiny End Dragoon (10/3000/3000)!"

Jayce frowned. This was bad. He had his ace card out the third turn. _C'mon Bill, show me some love. _"I draw!" _Hmmm… Maybe with the cards Jax gave me, I might win this. _"I play Double Summon, allowing me to normal summon twice this turn. I first summon my D.D. Warrior Lady (4/1500/1600) in attack mode! Second summon is Debris Dragon (4/1000/2000)! Next, I Synchronize my level four Debris Dragon and my level four D.D. Warrior Lady! But when I Synchronize them, I activate my trap card: Synchro Duplex! It allows me to Synchro Summon another Synchro monster of the same level as the one I'm summoning. Now, _Dragon kin that come and go, Come and aid me here below, Serpents one and serpents all, Come and heed my dragon call! _Your not the only one with End monsters! Synchro Summon: Light End Dragon (8/2600/2100) and Dark End Dragon (8/2600/2100)!"

"Plagiarist," Jax said, realizing the Phoenix Envoy used his chant when he Synchro Summoned.

"Heh, but they still don't have enough attack to take down my Dragoon," Harold pointed out.

"Who said I was attacking it?" Jayce asked. "I use my Dark End Dragon's effect: I can decrease it's attack and defense by 500, and destroy one monster you control!" Jayce declared. "Bye bye Destiny End Dragoon!" he said as his own End monster was weakened (2600=2100). "But I still have enough attack points to take you out. Attack, Light End Dragon and Dark End Dragon!"

Jayce's LP: 1500

Harold's LP: 0

Harold laughed as his Destiny Heroes were beaten. "Good Duel, Jayce. I'm glad I Dueled you. I hope you win this tournament."

Jayce grinned. "Thanks. I'll do my best."

The two walked back to the waiting area, both wondering who was going to be in the next match.


	13. Rounds 3 and 4

Chapter XIII

Rounds three and four:

Black Rose VS Dragon-Eater, Trident VS Turtle

"Hey bro, where'd you get the End Dragons?" Max asked Jayce as the two Phoenixes walked in.

Jayce hugged Maria and kissed Saby before answering. "Jax gave them to me. He said that he didn't have room in his deck for them, so gave them to me. Sure helped me out, huh?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to steal my chant too," Jax said.

Jayce laughed. "Hey, it was my first Synchro Summon, and I didn't have a chant. I thought it was appropriate."

Jax sighed. _He's the first to beat me in a duel, then I give him a couple cards, then he steals my Synchro Summon chant. If he didn't have Saby, I would think he would try to take Rika next, _he thought with a laugh.

The intercom announced the Duelists for the third match: Aki would be Dueling the Dragon-Eater.

"Don't worry," Aki said. "I'll take him out this round."

"Just try to tie if you don't think you can win," Kasey asked. "He won't be able to get your Mark or your Dragon that way. He needs to win for that."

Aki nodded. "Don't worry."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Aki and the Dragon-Eater stood at opposite ends of the field. Aki's face was expressionless, but she was wondering if she should take the hair clip out, just in case things turned nasty. She couldn't see the Eater's face, it was too well hidden by his cloak.

"Dragon Duel: Start!" the Dragon-Eater said when he knew Aki was ready. "Your Mark and your Black Rose Dragon will be mine."

Aki's LP: 4000

Dragon-Eater's LP: 4000

"Ladies first," the Eater said politely.

Aki drew. "I summon Lonefire Blossom (3/500/1400) in attack mode! I then play Seed of Deception, allowing me to Special Summon a level two or lower plant-type monster, and I summon Copy Plant (1/0/0), and I use it's effect to increase it's level to the same as another monster on the field, so it's now a level three!" Aki said.

"This is interesting," the Dragon-Eater said. "Black Rose Dragon is going to appear, right?"

"Yes, you are right. I use Lonefire Blossom's effect to tribute a plant monster on the field to summon one from my deck, and I tribute Lonefire to summon Gigantic Cephalous (4/1850/700)! I now tune my level three Copy Plant and my level four Cephalotus and Synchro Summon. _Chilling flames engulf the entire world! Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon _(7/2400/2100)! I now equip it with Thorns of Hatred and end turn," Aki said, summoning her Signer Dragon and amping it's attack (2400=3000).

"My turn. I first summon a Dragon-Eater (4/1500/1500) in attack mode," the Dragon-Eater said. He sounded slightly bored. "Negating any and all effects of Dragon monsters on your side of the field, and making their attack and defense zero." (Black Rose Dragon 3000/1800=600/0) "And I activate my spell card: Synchro Gathering. I can Synchro summon one Synchro monster from my extra deck that is the same level as one on your side of the field, and I summon Power Tool Dragon (7/2300/2500)!" the Eater said. "Ironic, isn't it? I acquired this card, and the Mark that goes with it, by impersonating you."

"Just make your move," Aki snapped.

"Very well. I activate his effect. I choose three equip cards from my deck, you choose one, and I add it to my hand. However, I don't think I'll be giving you much choice, because I choose three Horn of the Unicorn!"

Aki sighed. "I choose Horn of the Unicorn," the Black Rose Witch said.

"Thank you. I equip it to _my _Power Tool Dragon (2300=3000) and destroy your Black Rose Dragon," the Eater said, laughing as Aki's Dragon was destroyed, dropping her life points.

Aki's LP: 1600

Dragon-Eater's LP: 4000

"Next, I have my Dragon-Eater attack directly," the Eater said.

Aki's LP: 100

Dragon-Eater's 4000

Aki drew. "I set a monster facedown and end turn."

"You know you've lost, right? I have my Dragon-Eater attack your face-down, and Power Tool attacks you directly!" the Eater declared. "Your Dragon and Mark are now mine!"

Aki fell to her knees, feeling her right arm burn. She glanced down and saw that the Mark of the Dragon's Rear Claws were gone. The Dragon-Eater walked up to her, showing her his arm, and the three Marks he now had. The two Claws and the Heart. "My Dragon, please?" he asked politely. Aki reluctantly handed him Black Rose Dragon. "Thank you," she heard him say as she blacked out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Eater walked into the waiting area, seeing some of the Duelist missing. They had gone to the infirmary to see Aki. Joshua walked up to him.

"Maliko, right?" he asked.

The Eater jumped as the boy said his name. "How do you know?"

Joshua smiled mysteriously. "I know a lot of things."

"His name's Maliko?" Jax asked. Joshua nodded.

"He's a Demon that was feared by Dragons everywhere. He felt that Dragons were the only thing he should feed on, since they were the most beautiful and powerful creatures. He was put to sleep for thousands of years, sealed away deep inside the Earth, and the Earthbound Immortals had tried to awaken him during their war with the Crimson Dragon," Joshua explained.

"How do you know all this?" Max asked, walking up to the three.

"He's one of mine," Bill explained, again seeming to appear out of nowhere. "He is kind of my second in command. He is the Composer."

"Huh?" Max said.

"ATTENTION DUELISTS! WOULD JAX CAMPBELL AND RIKA GOODWIN PLEASE COME TO THE FIELD! ROUND FOUR WILL NOW START!" the intercom screamed. Jax and Rika looked at each other.

"Rex did say that the matches were randomized," Bill said. "So it's only coincidence how these Duels are being matched."

"Doubt that," Kasey muttered.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Jax and Rika stood at opposite ends of the field, looking at each other. They had Dueled before, just helping Rika practice, but this time it was serious. Jax wanted to go on, because the one who won this Duel would face the Dragon-Eater in the next set of rounds. He felt that he shouldn't let Rika Duel the Demon, and Rika felt the same way in reverse.

"Ready?" Jax asked Rika.

"Ready," Rika told Jax.

"DUEL!" they said together.

Jax's LP: 4000

Rika's LP: 4000

"You go first," Jax said.

"Draw!" Rika said. "I play A Legendary Ocean, a Field Spell that not only increases the attack and defense of all WATER monsters, but also decreases their levels by one, including the ones in my hand!" Rika said. "Next, I summon Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (4/1800/1500=3/2000/1700) in attack mode. I play two cards facedown and end turn."

Jax drew. "I summon Red-Eyes Black Chick (1/800/500) in attack mode, then tribute it to special summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000)! I now activate Inferno Fire Blast, by not attacking with my Red-Eyes this turn, you loose Life Points equal to his attack, so you lose 2400 Life Points, Rika!"

Jax's LP: 4000

Rika's LP: 1600

Rika frowned. Her boyfriend was certainly going all out. But she couldn't let him face Maliko, if Joshua was right and that was the Dragon-Eater's name. "Draw!" she said. "I tribute my Sea Serpent to summon Levia-Dragon- Daedalus (7/2600/1500=6/2800/1700) in attack mode! I have it kill your Red-Eyes!" Rika said, dropping her boyfriend's Life Points, even though it wasn't as much as what he did.

Jax's LP: 3200

Rika's LP: 1600

"My turn: Draw!" Jax said. "Before I summon, I play Monster Reborn, allowing me to resurrect my Red-Eyes! Next, I play one card facedown, then summon Junk Synchron (3/1300/500) and activate his ability, allowing me to special summon one level two or lower monster from my Graveyard. I bring back my Black Chick, then Tune my level three Junk Warrior and my level seven Red-Eyes," Jax declared.

"Trident Dragon," Rika said.

Jax nodded. "_Dragon kin that come and go, Come and aid me here below, Dragons one and dragons all, Come and heed my dragon call! _Synchro Summon: Trident Dragon (10/3000/2800)!" Jax grinned. "I'm the one who says this chant, Jayce! I now tribute my Red-Eyes Black Chick and my facedown card to allow Trident Dragon to attack three times. For my first attack, Trident will destroy Daedulus!" Jax said.

"I know how you Duel, so I brought this along: Magic Cylinder. That attack is negated, and you take the life point damage!" Rika said.

Jax's LP: 200

Rika's LP: 1600

_Wow, a week ago, and she had never Dueled seriously in her life, and now she has me almost beat, _Jax thought. He shook his head. "Well, second attack will also be at your Daedulus then," Jax said as his Dragon took down her Sea Serpent. "And my last attack is at you directly!"

"Trap activate: Scrap Iron Scarecrow! Your attack is negated." Rika said, stopping her boyfriend from finishing her off.

Jax's LP: 200

Rika's LP: 1400

"Draw!" Rika said. "I summon Deep Sea Diva (2/200/400=1/400/600) in defense mode, and her effect allows me to special summon one level three or lower Sea Serpent monster from my deck, so I summon another Deep Sea Diva. I play Foolish Burial, to send a Mermaid Knight to the Grave from my Deck, then end turn," Rika said. _Please, kill them, but don't do piercing damage! _she thought.

"Draw!" Jax said. "I summon Dragon's Vanguard (4/1700/1300) in attack mode, then have my Trident and my Vanguard destroy your Divas!" Jax said. "End turn."

Rika drew. _Here it is. I now have five monsters in my Grave, and none on my field. Thank you, Jax. _"I special summon Five Forces- Black Turtle (10/3000/3000=9/3200/3200) in attack mode!" Rika said, summoning her Force. She looked at Jax. They both knew that she could win now. Rika opened her mouth to declare an attack. _I'm not strong enough to fight the Dragon-Eater though, _she suddenly thought. She new that she was right. She might be able to take out Jax, but she knew that it was mostly luck that did it. Jax, however, didn't always have to rely on luck, he was skilled. "I use the Turtle's effect, and increase your Trident Dragon's attack by 1000!" she said instead. "End turn."

Jax's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I'm not strong enough to take on the Dragon-Eater," she said, "But you are. You win this."

Jax nodded. He didn't want her to fight Maliko, but he didn't like her throwing the match either. But he had no choice. In Jax's mind, Rika was first, the fate of the world second. He was sure that Jayce would back him up on this. "Trident Dragon, destroy Black Turtle, then Dragon's Vanguard, end this by attacking directly!" he said, dropping his beloved's Life Points to zero.

Jax's LP: 200

Rika's LP: 0

"I wish you didn't throw the match like that," Jax told her as they walked back to the waiting room, stopping every once in a while to kiss.

"It didn't occur to me to let you win until the Turtle was there," Rika told him.

Jayce walked over to meet them. "You sure you wanted to do that, Rika?"

Rika nodded. Jayce sighed. "Okay then."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Joshua put his cell phone away, not needing it to send thoughts to Rika's head, a process called Imprinting. He glanced at the palm of his right hand, where a countdown was, in blood red numbers. _What's the point of this game, Bill? _the Composer thought, _and why are you having me do these seemingly pointless tasks? "Make Rika lose the match, Joshua, so that Jax fights Maliko," he told me. But why? _He sighed, starting to understand how the Conductors he had, including the current one, had felt when they got their orders from him.


	14. Rounds 5 and 6

Chapter XIV

Rounds five and six:

God VS Composer, Orb VS Crystal

Jax, Rika and Jayce walked into the waiting area. Some of them were looking at Rika curiously, wondering why she threw the match. Fortunately, nobody asked her.

Joshua walked in behind them. "You ready, Bill?" he asked.

Bill nodded. He and Joshua went to the field, the intercom announcing that they were up next the minute they left.

"You think they knew, or they rigged it so they went against each other?" Kasey asked. Max shrugged.

Maliko sat on the couch in front of the screen, impatient to see the God of Games Duel his Composer. This was going to be one interesting match.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Bill and Joshua stood apart, activating their Duel Disks at the same time. They were identical, similar to the Duel Disks the Orichalcos had used, but were black and white, and had a Yin-Yang symbol on the main part.

"Duel!" they said at the same time.

Bill's LP: 4000

Joshua's LP: 4000

"Draw!" Bill said. "I play Polymerization on the F-Seal the First and Raging Flame Sprite in my hand to Summon F-Seal the Flare (2/1000/1000) in attack mode. I then use it's ability: when it is Fusion Summoned, I can summon another F-Seal Fusion monster from my fusion deck, and I summon F-Seal the Froth (3/1500/1500)!" Bill said, summoning two seal-like circles on the ground, one red and one blue. " I also activate my F-Seal the First's effect, when it is used for a Fusion Summon of an F-Seal, I can add it back to my deck. I now end turn."

Joshua grinned. "Still using your F-Seals, I see. Oh well, I summon Destiny Hero-Departed (2/1000/0) in defense mode. I play two cards face down, then play my continuous spell card: Card of Safe Return. When a monster in my Graveyard is Special Summoned from there, I can draw one card. End turn." Joshua said.

Bill grinned. "Are you doing what I think you are? Well, I'll have to gamble on it. I summon Dark Valkyria (4/1800/1050) in attack mode. I'll have her kill Departed," Bill said.

"I activate my trap card: Imperial Iron Wall. While this card is on the field, no cards can be removed from play, so Departed goes to my Graveyard, instead of out of play, like he normally would," Joshua said.

"Very good, you _are _doing that. Very good. I have my two F-Seals attack you directly," the God of Games said.

Joshua grinned. "Don't think so. Negate attack. Battle phase is ended."

Bill shrugged. "One card facedown and end turn."

The Composer drew. "During my standby phase, Departed is summoned on your side of the field, and because of Card of Safe Return, I can draw a card. I then summon King Tiger Wanghu (4/1700/1000). I play one card facedown and attack Departed."

"I discard Kuriboh from my hand, reducing the damage I take this turn to zero," Bill said. "My turn: I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman (4/1000/2000) in defense mode. End turn."

"But Woodsman is destroyed because of my King Tiger's effect: any monsters that are summoned that have 1400 or less attack are destroyed. And, on my Standby phase, Departed returns to your side of the field, letting me draw again. Then King Tiger's effect activates, destroying Departed. But, since it's still my standby phase, Departed returns to the field, allowing me to draw… Well, you get the picture," Joshua said.

"So, you created a loop that allows you to keep drawing cards, right?" Bill asked. "And, pray tell, why are you decking yourself?"

Joshua chuckled. "So I can get a certain five cards to my hand fast and easy. Behold, the power of Exodia the Forbidden One!" Joshua said, showing the five pieces in his hand. "That means I win. You just lost, Bill."

Bill shrugged. "Hey, even a God can't always win."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Bill and Joshua walked back into the waiting area. Team SET congratulated him on his win over Bill, and Joanne and Kasey had to leave. They were up next.

As Kasey activated his Disk, he wondered what Max was going to do when he beat his girlfriend. He put it in the back of his mind almost as soon as he thought it, concentrating on the Duel. He needed to win this, so that he could go on to fight the Dragon-Eater.

"Duel!" Kasey and Joanne yelled.

Kasey's LP: 4000

Joanne's LP: 4000

"I'll start," Kasey said. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician (4/1900/1700) in attack mode. I then play Foolish Burial on my Dark Magician, sending it from my Deck to my Graveyard. And since a spell card was activated, Skilled Dark Magician gains a spell counter. Two cards facedown and end turn."

Joanne drew. "I summon Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise (3/600/2000) in defense mode. I play a card facedown and end turn."

Kasey drew. "I play Swords of Revealing Light, making you unable to attack for three turns and putting a second counter on my Magician. I also play Monster Reborn on my Dark Magician (7/2500/2100), then tribute my Skilled Dark Magician, who now has three spell counters, to special summon another Dark Magician from my Deck," The Orb's Envoy said, summoning the Ace card of the legendary King of Games. "I now tribute my Dark Magicians to special summon Sorcerer of Dark Magic (9/3200/2800) in attack mode! I'll now destroy your Tortoise. End turn."

"But when my Emerald Tortoise is destroyed, I put it in my spell and trap card zone," Joanne said. "I now Summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus (4/1800/1200) in attack mode. His ability also allows me to send one Crystal Beast from my hand, Deck or Graveyard to my spell and trap card zone, so I put Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat in one. I end turn."

"My turn: Draw! I summon Mystic Lamp (1/400/300) in attack mode!" Kasey said.

"But it's really weak!" Joanne said. "Even with Swords protecting it, what good is it?"

"I'll show you. Mystic Lamp has the ability to attack directly! And it will do that now!" Kasey said, as the Lamp attacked, passing by the Crystal Beast. "Then my Sorcerer will destroy your Pegasus!"

"And I activate my trap card: Last Resort! It allows me to take one Ancient City- Rainbow Ruins from my Deck to the field!" Joanne said.

"Yeah, but my Sorcerer will negate the activation of a Trap card and destroy it!" Kasey said, blocking the Crystal Queen's attempt to bring out her field.

Kasey's LP: 4000

Joanne's LP: 2200

"My turn," Joanne said. "I play Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (4/1700/1600) in defense mode. End turn."

"Draw! I tribute my Mystic Lamp to summon Dark Magician Girl (6/2000/1700) in attack mode. And, she gains a 300 attack boost for each Dark Magician card in my Graveyard. There's two, so she now has 2600 attack! Dark Magician Girl, destroy her Mammoth, and my Sorcerer will attack you directly! That's game!" Kasey said, defeating the Crystal Queen. _Max is gonna be pissed, I bet, _he thought as he and Joanne left the field.

* * *

Okay, so i haven't updated in a while. It's gonna be sporadic from now on, cuz I'm lazy. Deal with it. Anyway, i just uploaded three new chapters for ya all, so be happy, my four readers. I might have more, but I dont think I do. I would like to thank Dragon Ninja for enspiring me to start writing on fanfiction again, and for letting me tie in this fic with his Trident Saga. I would also like to thank Almondburst and Fenikkusumaru... uh, I'll just call ya Fenny, kay? I can barely pronounce my own name, let alone yours. Anyone else who feels like they should be included here let me now, cuz my memory span is about ten seconds long and I apoogize for forgetting you. Anyway, thank you all, and have a happy Christmas. And I dont care if its August. have a happy one anyway.


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